PROCESS FOR OBTAINING AN ORGANIC ACID FROM AN ORGANIC ACID AMMONIUM SALT, AN ORGANIC ACID AMIDE, OR AN ALKYLAMINE ORGANIC ACID COMPLEX

摘要

A method for the recovery of an organic acid, such as a heat stable lactic acid, from a feedstream (1) comprising at least one of an organic acid amide , an organic acid ammonium salt or an alkylamine-organic acid complex. The feedstream is mixed with at least one azeotroping agent (2) and the mixture fed to a fractional distillation apparatus or reactor (3). The azeotroping agent is a hydrocarbon capable of forming at least one azeotrope with the organic acid that is produced by the thermal decomposition of the amide, ammonium salt, or complex in the feedstream. The mixture is heated to produc e vapor stream (11) that comprises an azeotrope. The vapor stream can be condensed in condenser (12) to a liquid stream, and the organic acid is recovered in the liquid stream that is produced. When the azeotrope is a heteroazeotrope, the vapor stream can be condensed into a liquid stream, whi ch can be separated into a first phase (18) and a second phase (17). The first phase contains the highest concentration of organic acid and the second phas e comprises azetroping agent. The organic acid can be further purified and/or concentrated from the separated first phase or form the liquid stream.