Patent ID: 7041199

Claim:
Process for hydrolytically obtaining a carboxylic acid and alcohol from a corresponding carboxylate and water, the process comprising: feeding a flow containing carboxylate to a pre-reactor, in which the carboxylate is brought into contact with a first catalyst in the presence of water, such that the carboxylate is partially cleaved into hydrolysis products; and drawing off the reaction mixture from the pre-reactor and at least partially feeding the reaction mixture into a reactive distillation column, and bringing the reaction mixture into contact with a second hydrolysis catalyst for at least partial conversion of remaining carboxylate into carboxylic acid and alcohol, a resulting reaction mixture being simultaneously separated at least partially into components in the reactive distillation column, more volatile compounds, including alcohol, being drawn off from a head of the reactive distillation column as a head flow and less volatile compounds, including carboxylic acid, collecting at least partially in a base of the column as a bottom fraction, which can be drawn off as a base flow.