Patent ID: 8183406

Claim:
A process for recovering one or more compounds from a residual stream derived from purification of methyl methacrylate (MMA) or methacrylic acid (MAA), wherein the one or more compounds are selected from the group consisting of methylacrylic acid (MAA) and 2-methacrylamide (MAM), said process comprising the steps of: (A) providing the residual stream which comprises at least MAA, MAM and heavy compounds; (B) separating the residual stream into an overhead stream and a residual organic stream comprising MAA, MAM, and the heavy compounds; and (C) separating the MAA and MAM from the heavy compounds by subjecting the residual organic stream to extraction with a solvent comprising water to form an aqueous extractant comprising MAA and MAM, and an organic raffinate stream comprising the heavy compounds.