Method for synthesis of oximes

A method for synthesis of an oxime by ammoximation of a carbonyl compound, comprising:

• (i) reacting a carbonyl compound containing 6 to 20 C atoms with ammonia and hydrogen peroxide in the presence of
• a) an organic solvent that is a1) at least partly water-soluble, a2) stable under ammoximation conditions, a3) has a boiling point of higher than 100° C. and/or is capable of forming a two-phase azeotrope with water, and
• b) a titanium-containing heterogeneous catalyst, to obtain a reaction mixture containing said oxime,
• (ii) separating the catalyst from the reaction mixture,
• (iii) crystallizing the oxime and separating the crystallized oxime from the reaction mixture, thereby obtaining crystallized oxime and a mother liquor,
• (iv) if the mother liquor is a two-phase system in which one of the phases is an aqueous phase, then water is removed from the mother liquor in the form of an aqueous phase, and
• (v) distilling off water or a water-containing two-phase azeotrope from the mother liquor, while the distillation bottoms and, optionally, a predominantly organic phase of the azeotrope are recycled to stage (i).