Acetaldehyde is converted to acetic acid by liquid phase catalytic oxidation at a relatively low temperature around 55oC and at a pressure of 4.0 kgs./cm2g. The reaction can be represented by the following equation.
The oxygen for the reaction is supplied by atmospheric air. The heat of reaction is removed by cooling water. The vent gases mainly consisting of Nitrogen are first scrubbed with crude acid and then washed with water to remove any traces of acid carried by vent gases. The over flow from the reactor is sent to a stripping column where unconverted acetaldehyde is recovered. The stripped crude acid along with liquid from wash column is sent to a distillation column to get pure acetic acid from the bottom.
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