ACID CATALYZED SYNTHESIS OF METHYL ACRYLATE FROM ACRYLIC ACID AND METHANOL

• Main Authors: NGO, Minh N, ELDER, James, CHAKRABARTI, Reetam
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 23.02.2022
• Subjects: ACYCLIC OR CARBOCYCLIC COMPOUNDS; CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY; ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

A method for preparing methyl acrylate comprises:a) heating in a reaction zone a mixture comprising acrylic acid, methanol, and an acid catalyst to react and form a reaction product comprising methyl acrylate which is vaporized with other light components and then fed to a distillation zone, wherein a feed stream entering the reaction zone comprises methanol to acrylic acid in a molar ratio of greater than 1 and less than 2, and a residence time in the reaction zone ranges from 0.25 to 2 hours;b) condensing and phase-separating a distillate from the distillation zone to form an organic phase comprising methyl acrylate and an aqueous phase;c) returning a portion of the organic phase to the distillation zone as organic reflux; andd) feeding the remainder of the organic phase and the aqueous phase of the distillation zone to an extraction column to form a methanol rich aqueous effluent and an organic effluent comprising methyl acrylate.