Single step lactide production process with heat recovery

A process for synthesizing lactide, comprising the steps of:

• adding thermal energy to at least one of one or more components;
• providing the one or more components comprising lactic acid and at least one aromatic solvent;
• converting at least part of the lactic acid into lactide and water;
• recovering at least part of the lactide;
• recovering at least part of the at least one aromatic solvent;
• recovering at least part of the thermal energy, wherein at least part of the recovered thermal energy is recovered from the recovered aromatic solvent;
• and
• adding the recovered thermal energy to at least one of the one or more components, wherein the steps of:
• recovering at least part of the thermal energy, wherein at least part of the recovered thermal energy is recovered from the recovered aromatic solvent;
• and
• adding the recovered thermal energy to at least one of the one or more components;
• are performed with a heat exchanger.