Patent ID: 7183428

Claim:
A method for the production of acrylic acid, comprising the steps of: a) introducing an acrylic acid-containing gas obtained by the reaction of catalytic gas phase oxidation of the raw material of acrylic acid into an absorption column and allowing the gas to contact with an absorbing aqueous solution thereby obtaining an acrylic acid-containing solution, b) supplying the acrylic acid-containing solution to a step of crystallization and separating the solution into acrylic acid and residual mother liquid having an acetic acid content of not less than 2 wt. %, and c) subjecting at least part of the residual mother liquid to distillation on a distillation column and circulating the distillate obtained by distillation to the absorption column of said step a), wherein the distillate is introduced onto the absorption column from a position different from the column top, thereby obtaining an acrylic acid-containing solution having a concentration of acrylic acid not less than 85 wt. % in the absorption column of step a).