Method for producing methylmethacrylate

A process for producing methyl methacrylate, the process comprising:

• A) producing methacrolein from propanal and formaldehyde and
• B) reacting the methacrolein in an oxidative esterification reaction to obtain methyl methacrylate,
• wherein
• the producing A) and the reacting B) take place in a liquid phase at a pressure of from 2 to 100 bar, and
• the reacting B) is carried out in the presence of a heterogeneous noble-metal-comprising catalyst comprising a metal and/or a metal oxide, and
• the reaction mixture of the producing A) is passed into a column for steam stripping, and a top phase of the steam stripper, which comprises the methacrolein and water, is then separated with a phase separator into an upper phase and a lower phase, whereby the upper phase comprises the methacrolein.