Vinyl acetate production process
View Patent ↗A process is disclosed for the production of vinyl acetate where a mixture of ethylene, acetic acid, and oxygen is reacted in the presence of a catalyst to produce a product mixture of vinyl acetate, ethylene, carbon dioxide, acetic acid, water, ethyl acetate, and ethylene glycol diacetate. The product mixture contains both a gaseous phase and a liquid phase, which are separated. The gas phase contains at least carbon dioxide, which is removed via gas stream. The crude vinyl acetate stream is removed via a liquid stream. The crude vinyl acetate is then further separated to isolate a stream containing at the majority of the ethylene glycol diacetate. The ethylene glycol diacetate stream is then methanolyzed in the presence of a methanolyzing catalyst, to recover methyl acetate, which can be optionally recycled as a feed stock to an acetic acid plant.
1. A process for the production of vinyl acetate comprising:
reacting ethylene, acetic acid, and oxygen in the presence of a catalyst to produce a reaction mixture comprising vinyl acetate and ethylene glycol diacetate;
separating the reaction mixture to form a gas stream and a crude vinyl acetate stream comprising vinyl acetate, and ethylene glycol diacetate;
separating the ethylene glycol diacetate from said crude vinyl acetate stream; and
methanolyzing the separated ethylene glycol diacetate in the presence of a methanolyzing catalyst and recovering methyl acetate.
2. The process of claim 1 wherein the ethylene glycol diacetate stream comprises at least 50 wt % ethylene glycol diacetate.
3. The process of claim 1 wherein the methanolyzing of the ethylene glycol diacetate reaches an equilibrium of greater than about 95% completion.
4. The process of claim 1 wherein the methanolyzing of the ethylene glycol diacetate reaches an equilibrium of about 100% completion.
5. The process of claim 1 wherein the methanolyzing step further comprises methanolyzing the ethylene glycol diacetate stream in a boiling pot reactor.
6. The process of claim 5 , wherein the boiling pot reactor operates within the temperature range from about 60 degrees Celsius to about 80 degrees Celsius.
7. The process of claim 1 further comprising the step of recycling the methyl acetate to an acetic acid reactor.
8. The process of claim 1 , the reaction mixture further comprising carbon dioxide, acetic acid, water, and ethyl acetate.
9. The process of claim 1 the gas stream further comprising ethylene and carbon dioxide.
10. The process of claim 1 the crude vinyl acetate stream further comprising acetic acid, water, and ethyl acetate.
11. The process of claim 1 wherein the methyl acetate is recovered in a distillation tower.