Process for continuously producing ester of acrylic or methacrylic acid

摘要

A process for continuously producing an alkyl ester of acrylic or methacrylic acid by ester interchange reaction represented by the following reaction scheme: wherein R1 is hydrogen or methyl, R2 is an alkyl having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, R3 is an alkyl having 2 to 20 carbon atoms or a mono- or polyhydroxyalkyl having 2 to 20 carbon atoms such that R2OH has a boiling point lower than that of R3OH. The reaction is continuously carried out in a continuous multi-stage distillation column while simultaneously removing the low-boiling R2OH from the reaction zone by distillation, thereby shifting the equilibrium toward the product side to enhance the production of the target alkyl ester.