Process for the hydrodechlorination of a liquid feed comprising dichloroacetic acid

1. A process comprising subjecting a liquid feed comprising monochloroacetic acid and dichloroacetic acid 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, wherein said catalytic hydrodechlorination step is carried out in a vertical tubular reactor with a diameter exceeding 0.4 m, with the solid heterogeneous hydrogenation catalyst being situated in a fixed catalyst bed, wherein the liquid feed is fed to the top of said vertical tubular reactor at a superficial mass velocity of between 1 and 10 kg/s per square meter of the horizontal cross-section of the vertical tubular reactor and a rate of between 250 and 3,000 kg/hr per m 3 of said catalyst bed, wherein the source of hydrogen is fed to the top or bottom of the vertical tubular reactor at a superficial gas velocity of between 0.025 to 0.25 Nm 3 /s per square meter of the horizontal cross-section of the vertical tubular reactor, so as to obtain an average axial pressure gradient of at least 2 kPa per meter of said catalyst bed, and wherein 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.

2. The process according to claim 1 wherein the liquid feed fed to the top of said vertical tubular reactor comprises at least 5.5% by weight acetic acid.

3. The process according to claim 1 wherein the fixed catalyst bed in which the heterogeneous hydrogenation catalyst is situated has been prepared by loading the vertical tubular reactor with the heterogeneous hydrogenation catalyst using a dense loading technique.

4. The process according to claim 1 wherein the liquid feed is fed to the top of said vertical tubular reactor at a superficial mass velocity of between 2.5 and 6 kg/s per square meter of the horizontal cross-section of the vertical tubular reactor.

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

6. 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.

7. The process according to claim 6 , wherein the carrier is in the form of particles, said particles being in the form of irregularly shaped granules, spheres, rings, trilobes, quadrulobes, or extrudates.

8. The process according to claim 7 wherein the particles are in the form of extrudates, trilobes, or quadrulobes, and wherein said extrudates, trilobes or quadrulobes have a diameter of between 0.8 and 3 mm and a length of between 1 and 10 mm.

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

10. The process according to claim 1 wherein the temperature in the top of the vertical tubular reactor is between 145 and 175° C.

11. The process according to claim 1 wherein the source of hydrogen is fed to the top of the vertical tubular reactor, resulting in a co-current downflow with the liquid feed.

12. The process according to claim 11 wherein the pressure in the top of the vertical tubular reactor is between 0.3 and 0.6 MPa.

13. The process according to claim 1 wherein the source of hydrogen is fed to the bottom of the vertical tubular reactor and the pressure at the bottom of the vertical tubular reactor is between 0.3 and 0.6 MPa.

14. The process according to claim 1 wherein the liquid feed subjected to the catalytic hydrodechlorination step 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 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 liquid feed.

15. The process according to claim 3 wherein the liquid feed is fed to the top of said vertical tubular reactor at a superficial mass velocity of between 2.5 and 6 kg/s per square meter of the horizontal cross-section of the vertical tubular reactor.

16. The process according to claim 4 wherein the heterogeneous hydrogenation catalyst comprises between 0.1 and 3% by weight, based on the total weight of the heterogeneous hydrogenation catalyst, of the one or more metals of Group VIII of the Periodic Table of the Elements.

17. The process according to claim 5 wherein the carrier is selected from the group consisting of activated carbon, silica, alumina, zirconium oxide, and titanium oxide.

18. The process according to claim 3 wherein the temperature in the top of the vertical tubular reactor is between 145 and 175° C.

19. The process according to claim 5 wherein the source of hydrogen is fed to the top of the vertical tubular reactor, resulting in a co-current downflow with the liquid feed.

20. The process according to claim 9 wherein the source of hydrogen is fed to the bottom of the vertical tubular reactor and the pressure at the bottom of the vertical tubular reactor is between 0.3 and 0.6 MPa.