Patent ID: 8829207

Claim:
A process for the production of a cyclic acetal in a reactive distillation column comprising: (a) continuously feeding to the column polyhydroxyl compounds and aldehyde compounds at a molar excess of polyhydroxyl compounds fed to the column relative to moles of aldehyde compounds fed to the column, (b) reacting the polyhydroxyl compounds with the aldehyde compounds in a reaction zone in the column to form a reaction mixture comprising liquid cyclic acetal compounds and water as a co-product, and (c) continuously withdrawing from the column one or more product streams comprising cyclic acetal compounds and 10 mole %-90 mole % unreacted polyhydroxyl compounds based on the moles of all ingredients within the cumulative product stream(s), and (d) withdrawing from the column an overhead vapor stream rich in concentration of water co-product relative to any one of the product streams, wherein the concentration of cyclic acetals in each of the product streams is greater than the concentration of cyclic acetal compounds in the overhead vapor stream; and (e) separating cyclic acetal compounds from the product stream and thereafter isolating the cyclic acetal compounds to form a purified cyclic acetal compound stream comprising at least 80 mole % of cyclic acetals based on the moles of all ingredients in the purified cyclic acetal compounds, wherein said process in the reactive distillation column and any in any downstream separation of ingredients within the product stream(s) does not include equipment operated to hydrolyze the cyclic acetal compounds.