Process for carrying out a reaction in a reaction column

A process for carrying out a reaction in a reaction column, said process comprising:

• providing a first reactant to the reaction column in the liquid phase;
• contacting said first reactant with an excess of a second reactant such that reaction takes place within the reaction column to form a low boiling product and a high boiling product, a portion of said second reactant being provided to the reaction column in a vapour phase and another portion of said second reactant is provided to the reaction column as liquid;
• recovering an overhead stream from at, or near, the top of the reaction column, said overhead stream comprising unreacted second reactant and the low boiling product;
• and
• recovering a bottoms stream from at, or near, the bottom of the reaction column comprising the high boiling product,
• wherein at least a portion of the heat required to vaporise the portion of the second reactant that is provided to the reaction column in the vapour phase is provided by heat exchange in a heat exchanger with a hot stream that is generated within the process, but that is not generated within the reaction column;
• and,
• wherein the portion of the second reactant that is fed as liquid to the reaction column is vaporised within a reboiler of the reaction column.