Patent ID: 7547799

Claim:
A method for producing an ester-substituted phenol product stream from an ester-substituted diaryl carbonate manufacturing waste stream, the method comprising the steps of: (1) obtaining a waste stream from an ester-substituted diaryl carbonate manufacturing facility, the waste stream comprising an ester-substituted diaryl carbonate, (2) creating a reaction mixture by combining the waste stream with a solvent selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, iso-propanol, and water, and with a transesterification catalyst, (3) maintaining the reaction mixture at a reaction pressure at or below atmospheric pressure and at a reaction temperature for a period of time sufficient to produce ester-substituted phenol by solvolysis of the ester-substituted diaryl carbonate, and (4) removing the ester-substituted phenol in an ester-substituted phenol stream, wherein the solvent, the reaction temperature, and the reaction time are selected in combination such that less than 1,000 ppm of acid-substituted phenol is present in the ester-substituted phenol stream.