Patent ID: 6479620
Filing Date: 2002-11-12
Classification: C08G,Y02P

Abstract:
A process for making nylon 6, comprising:(a) establishing a reactive distillation column having a top and a bottom, the top having a temperature of 150 to 200 degrees C. and the bottom having a temperature of 240 to 260 degrees C., the column having a plurality of spaced apart plates disposed therein, thereby defining a plurality of stages, each stage being defined by the column volume between adjacent plates, each stage being separately heated to a predetermined temperature; (b) introducing caprolactam and water into a reaction zone having a temperature of 200 to 250 degrees C. and a pressure of 100 to 300 psia (0.69 to 2.07 MPa) to make a reaction product comprising caprolactam, linear aminocaproic acid and water; (c) introducing the reaction product into the reactive distillation column at or near the top of the column while introducing steam at or near the bottom of the column; and (d) recovering nylon 6 from the bottom of the column.