Process for the purification of a liquid feed comprising mca and dca

Abstract

The present invention pertains to a process for the purification of a substantially water-free liquid feed comprising monochloroacetic acid, dichloroacetic acid, optionally acid chlorides, optionally anhydrides, and optionally acetic acid, which comprises the steps of (a) adding water to the liquid feed so that a liquid feed is obtained comprising between 0.01 and 5% by weight of water, based on the total weight of the liquid feed, and (b) subsequently subjecting the liquid feed obtained in step (a) to a catalytic hydrodechlorination step by contacting it with a source of hydrogen to convert the dichloroacetic acid into monochloroacetic acid in the presence of a solid heterogeneous hydrogenation catalyst comprising one or more metals of Group VIII of the Periodic Table of the Elements deposited on a carrier.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.