Reactive distillation process for hydrolysis of esters

摘要

A process for hydrolyzing an alkyl ester to produce a carboxylic acid product and an ether product, the process includes the steps of introducing into a reaction zone of a reactive distillation column a feed containing the alkyl ester wherein the reaction zone is at a temperature and pressure to preferentially produce an ether from the ester; and recovering the ether and the carboxylic acid.