Production of epoxy compounds from olefinic compounds

A process for converting an olefinically unsaturated compound to the corresponding epoxy compound, comprising:

• a. producing gaseous chlorine by the electrolysis of an aqueous brine solution in an electrolytic cell including an anode compartment and a cathode compartment, said gaseous chlorine being produced in the anode compartment and hydrogen in the cathode compartment;
• b. contacting in a first reaction zone gaseous chlorine from the cell, an aqueous solution containing sodium chloride and sodium hydroxide from the cathode compartment of the electrolytic cell and a tertiary alkanol to produce a tertiary alkyl hypochlorite;
• c. recovering from the first reaction zone an aqueous brine phase and an organic phase containing the tertiary alkyl hypochlorite;
• d. introducing the recovered aqueous brine phase as electrolyte into the electrolytic cell;
• e. contacting in a second reaction zone the organic phase containing the tertiary alkyl hypochlorite, an olefinically unsaturated compound and water, essentially free of chloride ions, to produce the corresponding chlorohydrin and a tertiary alkanol;
• f. recovering the chlorohydrin and tertiary alkanol from the second reaction zone;
• g. passing recovered tertiary alkanol to the first reaction zone;
• h. contacting in a third reaction zone the chlorohydrin with an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide and sodium chloride obtained from the cathode compartment of the electrolytic cell to produce the corresponding epoxy compound;
• i. recovering epoxy compound and an aqueous brine solution from the third reaction zone;
• and
• j. introducing aqueous brine solution recovered from the third reaction zone into the electrolytic cell as electrolyte.