Process for the separation of a product mixture

A process for the separation of a product mixture, the process comprising:

• (a) providing the product mixture containing at least a light component and a heavy component, wherein a binary system of the light component and the heavy component has a Henry's law constant of at least 0.001 mol m−3 Pa−1, and the boiling point of the light component is at least 30° C. lower than the boiling point of the heavy component, determined at ambient pressure;
• (b) feeding the product mixture into a distillation column via a feed point and subjecting the product mixture to a distillation step, wherein the product mixture is heated to a distillation temperature at a distillation pressure;
• (c) feeding a clearing gas at a location below the feed point of the product mixture;
• (d) collecting at the top of the distillation column a product gas containing the light component and the clearing gas;
• (e) collecting at the bottom of the distillation column a product liquid containing the heavy component,
• wherein the product gas obtained in step (d) is directly recycled to a reaction step that produces the product mixture, and
• wherein the process operates with one or more of (i) reduced reflux ratio within the distillation column;
• (ii) reduced energy consumption of the distillation column;
• and (iii) reduced loss of the heavy component in the product gas, compared to the distillation of the same product mixture in the absence of a clearing gas.