Continuous esterification of methacrylic acid and product recovery

Abstract

A process for the esterification of an olefinically unsaturated carboxylic acid, such as methacrylic acid, with a lower alkanol, such as methanol, to form the corresponding ester over a solid cationic catalyst in which the carboxylic acid is used in excess of the alkanol on a molar basis, the improvement which comprises: (A) employing a hydraulically fluidized solid catalyst reactor for the continuous esterification reaction, (B) including in the esterification reaction a solvent which is a hydrocarbon having from 6 to 15 carbon atoms, (C) passing the effluent from the esterification reactor into a first distillation column in which the ester product and water by-product are taken overhead, (D) taking the unesterified carboxylic acid, solvent, and heavies from the bottom of the first distillation column, (E) separating the water from the ester in the overhead from (C) and recoverying the ester product, (F) separating heavies from the carboxylic acid-solvent from (D) in a second distillation column, (G) recycling the carboxylic acid-solvent from (F) back to the esterification reactor (A), and (H) disposing of the heavies from (F) is described.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.