Patent ID: 7351860

Claim:
A process for preparing acid formates comprising: (a) partially hydrolyzing methyl formates with water; (b) separating off by distillation methyl formate and methanol from the reaction mixture obtained in process stage (a), forming a stream comprising formic acid and water; (c) converting the stream comprising methyl formate with or without methanol from the process stage (b) by (i) reaction with a basic compound having a pK a of the conjugate acid of the appropriate dissociation state of ≧3, measured at 25° C. in aqueous solution, in the presence of water, and (ii) removal of the methanol by distillation, into a stream comprising formate and water; and (d) combining the stream comprising formic acid and water from the process stage (b) and the stream comprising formate and water from the process stage (c), forming a mixture comprising the acid formate and water.