Patent ID: 7326323

Claim:
A process for purifying a stream comprising at least one thermally sensitive compound, comprising the steps of: (a) providing a separation vessel having an internal diameter of greater than 8 feet, an internal cross-sectional area and at least one tray extending across said internal cross-sectional area; (b) providing said stream comprising at least one thermally sensitive compound to said separation vessel at a rate of at least 40,000 lb/hour, wherein said at least one thermally sensitive compound comprises (meth)acrylic acid and at least one other compound comprising acetic acid in an amount between 1 and 5 weight percent, based on the total weight of the stream; and (c) purifying said stream by operating said separation vessel and maintaining a pressure drop across at least one of said at least one tray in a range of between 1 mm Hg (0.02 psi) and 10 mm Hg (0.2 psi); and (d) producing a purified bottoms product stream comprising less than 10,000 parts per million acetic acid, based on the total weight of the stream.