Method for producing diesters of terephthalic acid

Abstract

The present invention relates to a process for preparing a terephthalic diester by reacting terephthalic acid with at least one alcohol, wherein terephthalic acid is suspended in the alcohol in a dispersing tank, the preliminary suspension is passed from the dispersing tank into a reactor and converted in the presence of an esterification catalyst to obtain a reaction suspension, a stream of the reaction suspension is drawn off from the reactor, passed through a heat exchanger outside the reactor and heated and the heated reaction suspension is recycled into the reactor, and water of reaction is distilled off together with the vapor as alcohol-water azeotrope, the vapor is at least partly condensed, the condensate is separated into an aqueous phase and an organic phase and the organic phase is at least partly recycled into the reactor.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.