Process for the recovery of copper from the effluent of poly(phenylene ether) synthesis

摘要

Process for the recovery of copper from the effluent of poly(phenylene ether) synthesis, which includes in a first step the oxidative linking of phenols to oxygen in the presence of a copper-amine catalyst in organic solvents and, in a second step, the separation of the catalyst with the aid of aqueous solutions of complexing agents and/or cation exchange resins, characterized in that the effluent from the catalyst separation step is treated at a pH of 4 to 14 with a compound of the general formula I <IMAGE> in which R<1> and R<2> are hydrogen, C1-C20-alkyl, an aryl, alkylaryl or aralkyl group having up to 20 C atoms and R<3> is hydrogen, ammonium, sodium or potassium, and then separating off the resulting precipitate.