Patent ID: 8906205

Claim:
A process for separating a mixture containing ethylene glycol and 1,2-butanediol, comprising: distilling the mixture in presence of an azeotropic agent having the following general formula to obtain an azeotrope comprising ethylene glycol and the azeotropic agent, wherein R 1 is H atom or an alkyl containing 1-4 carbon atoms, R 2 is H atom or an alkyl containing 1-4 carbon atoms, R 3 is H atom or an alkyl containing 1-8 carbon atoms, and R 4 is H atom or an alkyl containing 1-8 carbon atoms; separating the azeotrope to obtain a material stream enriched with ethylene glycol and a material stream enriched with the azeotropic agent; and distilling the material stream enriched with ethylene glycol to obtain ethylene glycol.