Dehydration of lactic acid in the liquid phase
AssigneeLakril Technologies Corp.
InventorChristopher P. Nicholas
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The catalytic dehydration of lactic acid to acrylic acid has traditionally occurred in the gas phase. The disclosure provides a process occurring in the liquid phase over a catalyst. The process includes pressuring a feedstream, contacting the feedstream with a catalyst, converting the feedstream into a product stream, and recovering acrylic acid, alkyl acrylate, or a cation-balanced acrylate from the product stream.
Claims20
A process for catalytic dehydration of lactic acid, an alkyl lactate, or a cation-balanced lactate, the process comprising:
- Pressurizing a feedstream comprising lactic acid, an alkyl lactate or a cation-balanced lactate to a pressure greater than 10 barg and sufficient to have a liquid phase;
- contacting the feedstream with a catalyst;
- converting the feedstream into a product stream comprising acrylic acid, alkyl acrylate or a cation-balanced acrylate over the catalyst;
- and recovering the acrylic acid, alkyl acrylate or a cation-balanced acrylate from the product stream.
A process for catalytic dehydration of a lactic source, the process comprising:
- pressurizing a feedstream comprising a lactic source to a pressure greater than 10 barg and sufficient to have a liquid phase;
- contacting the feedstream with a catalyst;
- converting the feedstream into a product stream comprising acrylic acid, alkyl acrylate or a cation-balanced acrylate over the catalyst;
- and recovering the acrylic acid, alkyl acrylate or a cation-balanced acrylate from the product stream;
- where the lactic source comprises lactic acid, an alkyl lactate, a cation-balanced lactate, or combinations thereof.
A process for catalytic dehydration of a lactic source, the process comprising:
- pressurizing a feedstream comprising a lactic source to a pressure greater than 25 barg and sufficient to have a liquid phase;
- contacting the feedstream with a catalyst comprising a FAU zeolite;
- converting the feedstream into a product stream comprising acrylic acid, alkyl acrylate or a cation-balanced acrylate over the catalyst;
- and recovering the acrylic acid, alkyl acrylate or a cation-balanced acrylate from the product stream;
- where the lactic source comprises lactic acid, an alkyl lactate, a cation-balanced lactate, or combinations thereof.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.