Method for drying methyl mercaptan by means of azeotropic distillation

Abstract

The present invention relates to a process for drying methyl mercaptan, notably by azeotropic distillation, comprising the following steps: 1) a stream (A) comprising methyl mercaptan and water is introduced into a distillation column (1); 2) said stream (A) is distilled in said column (1); 3) the distillate (B) is recovered in gaseous form, preferably at the top of the column; 4) the distillate (B) is condensed, preferably in a condenser (2), so as to obtain a condensate (C) in liquid form; 5) said condensate (C) is separated, preferably using a decanter (3), so as to obtain two separate liquid phases: an aqueous phase (D); and an organic phase (E) comprising methyl mercaptan; 6) all or part of the organic phase (E) is optionally introduced into the distillation column (1) as reflux; and 7) a stream (F) comprising the dried methyl mercaptan is recovered, preferably at the bottom of column (1). The present invention also relates to processes for producing methyl mercaptan comprising said drying process.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.