Reducing cyclic organosiloxanes in a recirculating process stream

摘要

A process for continuously reducing the amount of cyclic organosiloxane in a recirculating process stream is disclosed. The process comprises washing a process stream in a wash step to reduce chloride content of the process stream, distilling the process stream into a low-boiling fraction comprising low molecular weight cyclic organosiloxanes and an inert solvent and a high-boiling fraction comprising linear organosiloxanes and high molecular weight cyclic organosiloxanes and reequilibrating the overhead low-boiling fraction in the presence of a reequilibration catalyst to form a reequilibration mixture comprising high molecular weight cyclic organosiloxanes and the inert solvent and recycling the reequilibration mixture to the wash step.