Patent ID: 7714160

Claim:
A process for producing an alkyl nitrite comprising: feeding an alkyl alcohol into a top portion of a reaction column and causing the fed alkyl alcohol to fall downwardly through the reactor column; feeding nitrogen monoxide and oxygen gases separately or together into a bottom portion of the reaction column while causing the fed nitrogen monoxide and oxygen gases to flow upwardly through the reaction column and to react with the falling alkyl alcohol; delivering a resultant gas fraction containing alkyl nitrite gas through a top outlet portion of the reaction column; collecting a resultant liquid fraction containing non-reacted alkyl alcohol and nitric acid dissolved in water in a bottom portion of the reaction column and withdrawing the collected liquid fraction from the bottom portion of the reaction column, and feeding a portion of the withdrawn liquid fraction into a reactor and bringing nitrogen monoxide gas into contact with the fed liquid fraction containing the non-reacted alkyl alcohol and nitric acid dissolved in water in the reactor, at a temperature of from 0° to 200° C. under an ambient atmospheric pressure or more, but not more than 20 MPaG, to produce an alkyl nitrite.