A process for making acrylic acid from dextrose, comprising: a. fermenting dextrose in the presence of a biological catalyst to produce a fermentation broth containing lactic acid; b. removing solids from the fermentation broth to produce a clarified fermentation broth; c. removing lactic acid from the clarified fermentation broth by extraction into an organic solvent; d. separating the lactic acid-loaded organic solvent from the fermentation broth remainder after lactic acid has been removed therefrom; e. recycling at least a portion of the fermentation broth remainder to the fermentation step; f. reacting lactic acid in the lactic acid-loaded solvent with ammonia to provide a crude dehydration feed comprising ammonium lactate; g. separating ammonium lactate from organic solvent in the crude dehydration feed to provide a dehydration feed; h. carrying out a vapor phase dehydration of ammonium lactate in the dehydration feed to produce a crude acrylic acid product; i. purifying the crude acrylic acid product to provide a purified acrylic acid product, by a process including a first distillation to remove acetaldehyde and ammonia overhead and provide a bottoms stream comprised predominantly of acrylic acid and propionic acid, and a second distillation of the bottoms stream from the first distillation to provide a second distillation overhead stream enriched in acrylic acid and a second distillation bottoms stream enriched in propionic acid; and, j. further purifying the acrylic acid in the second distillation overhead stream by melt crystallization, chromatography or both melt crystallization and chromatography. a. fermenting dextrose in the presence of a biological catalyst to produce a fermentation broth containing lactic acid; b. removing solids from the fermentation broth to produce a clarified fermentation broth; c. removing lactic acid from the clarified fermentation broth by extraction into an organic solvent; d. separating the lactic acid-loaded organic solvent from the fermentation broth remainder after lactic acid has been removed therefrom; e. recycling at least a portion of the fermentation broth remainder to the fermentation step; f. reacting lactic acid in the lactic acid-loaded solvent with ammonia to provide a crude dehydration feed comprising ammonium lactate; g. separating ammonium lactate from organic solvent in the crude dehydration feed to provide a dehydration feed; h. carrying out a vapor phase dehydration of ammonium lactate in the dehydration feed to produce a crude acrylic acid product; i. purifying the crude acrylic acid product to provide a purified acrylic acid product, by a process including a first distillation to remove acetaldehyde and ammonia overhead and provide a bottoms stream comprised predominantly of acrylic acid and propionic acid, and a second distillation of the bottoms stream from the first distillation to provide a second distillation overhead stream enriched in acrylic acid and a second distillation bottoms stream enriched in propionic acid; and, a first distillation to remove acetaldehyde and ammonia overhead and provide a bottoms stream comprised predominantly of acrylic acid and propionic acid, and a second distillation of the bottoms stream from the first distillation to provide a second distillation overhead stream enriched in acrylic acid and a second distillation bottoms stream enriched in propionic acid; j. further purifying the acrylic acid in the second distillation overhead stream by melt crystallization, chromatography or both melt crystallization and chromatography.