Process for the purification of a liquid feed comprising MCA and DCA

1. A process for the purification of a substantially water-free liquid feed comprising monochloroacetic acid and dichloroacetic acid to produce a hydrogenation product, which comprises the steps of

(a) obtaining the substantially water-free liquid feed from a section of a monochloroacetic acid production plant wherein acetic acid is reacted with chlorine in the presence of a catalyst,

(b) stripping the substantially water-free liquid feed using HCl at a pressure between 2 and 10 bar,

(c) adding water to the substantially water-free liquid feed so that a second liquid feed is obtained comprising between 0.01 and 5% by weight of water, based on the total weight of the second liquid feed, and

(d) subsequently subjecting the second liquid feed to a catalytic hydrodechlorination step by contacting it with a source of hydrogen to convert the dichloroacetic acid into monochloroacetic acid in the presence of a solid heterogeneous hydrogenation catalyst comprising one or more metals of Group VIII of the Periodic Table of the Elements deposited on a carrier, thus producing the hydrogenation product,

wherein the hydrogenation product is a monochloroacetic acid-comprising product having a reduced dichloroacetic acid content and a Pt—Co color (as determined according to ISO-6271) that is equal to or below a value of 300.

2. The process according to claim 1 wherein the solid heterogeneous hydrogenation catalyst comprises between 0.1 and 3% by weight, based on the total weight of the solid heterogeneous hydrogenation catalyst, of the one or more metals of Group VIII of the Periodic Table of the Elements.

3. The process according to claim 1 wherein the solid heterogeneous hydrogenation catalyst comprises at least one of palladium and platinum.

4. The process according to claim 1 wherein the carrier is selected from the group consisting of activated carbon, silica, alumina, zirconium oxide, and titanium oxide.

5. The process according to claim 1 wherein the substantially water-free liquid feed comprises between 0.01 and 35% by weight of acid chlorides.

6. The process according to claim 1 wherein the second liquid feed comprises

(i) between 60 and 99.5% by weight of monochloroacetic acid,

(ii) between 0.05 and 20% by weight of dichloroacetic acid,

(iii) between 0.1 and 30% by weight of acetic acid,

(iv) between 0.1 and 5% by weight of water, and

(v) between 0 and 5% by weight of other components,

up to a total of 100%, based on the total weight of the second liquid feed.

7. The process according to claim 1 wherein the hydrodechlorination step is carried out using a vertical tubular reactor containing the solid hydrogenation heterogeneous catalyst.

8. The process according to claim 7 wherein the solid hydrogenation heterogeneous catalyst is situated in a fixed catalyst bed.

9. The process according to claim 8 wherein the second liquid feed is fed to the top of the vertical tubular reactor and hydrogen gas or a mixture of hydrogen gas and up to 50 mole % of an inert gas is either fed to the top or fed to the bottom of the vertical tubular reactor.

10. The process according to claim 7 wherein hydrogen gas or a mixture of hydrogen gas and up to 50 mole % of an inert gas is fed to the top of the vertical tubular reactor, the temperature in the top of the vertical tubular reactor is between 100 and 200° C. and wherein the pressure in the top of the vertical tubular reactor is between 0.2 and 1.0 MPa.

11. The process according to claim 7 wherein hydrogen gas or a mixture of hydrogen gas and up to 50 mole % of an inert gas is fed to the bottom of the vertical tubular reactor, the temperature at the top of the vertical tubular reactor is between 100 and 200° C. and wherein the pressure at the bottom of the vertical tubular reactor is between 0.2 and 1.0 MPa.

12. The process according to claim 3 wherein the carrier is selected from the group consisting of activated carbon, silica, alumina, zirconium oxide, and titanium oxide.

13. The process according to claim 4 wherein the substantially water-free liquid feed comprises between 0.01 and 35% by weight of acid chlorides.

14. The process according to claim 2 wherein the hydrodechlorination step is carried out using a vertical tubular reactor containing the solid hydrogenation heterogeneous catalyst.

15. The process according to claim 14 wherein the solid hydrogenation heterogeneous catalyst is situated in a fixed catalyst bed.

16. The process according to claim 15 wherein the second liquid feed is fed to the top of the vertical tubular reactor and hydrogen gas or a mixture of hydrogen gas and up to 50 mole % of an inert gas is either fed to the top or fed to the bottom of the vertical tubular reactor.

17. The process according to claim 14 wherein hydrogen gas or a mixture of hydrogen gas and up to 50 mole % of an inert gas is fed to the top of the vertical tubular reactor, the temperature in the top of the vertical tubular reactor is between 100 and 200° C. and wherein the pressure in the top of the vertical tubular reactor is between 0.2 and 1.0 MPa.

18. The process according to claim 1 wherein the solid heterogeneous hydrogenation catalyst comprises between 0.1 and 3% by weight, based on the total weight of the solid heterogeneous hydrogenation catalyst, of the one or more metals of Group VIII of the Periodic Table of the Elements.

19. The process according to claim 1 wherein the solid heterogeneous hydrogenation catalyst comprises at least one of palladium and platinum.