PURPOSE: To obtain a new process capable of industrially and advantageously performing production of dimethyl carbonate by a vapor-phase reaction by using carbon monoxide and methyl nitrite as raw materials in the presence of a platinum group metal-based solid catalyst.
CONSTITUTION: A new process for continuously producing dimethyl carbonate consists of (A) a reaction process wherein carbon monoxide and a methyl nitrite-containing gas are introduced to a reactor packed with a solid catalyst carrying a platinum group metal (compound) or the platinum group metal (compound) and a cocatalyst and catalytically reacted in a vapor phase to give a reactional product comprising dimethyl carbonate, (B) the reaction product is fed to an absorption column, dimethyl oxalate is used as an absorption solvent and the reactional product is separated into a nitrogen monoxide-containing concondensed gas and an absorption solution having absorbed dimethyl carbonate, (C) the noncondensed gas is sent to a recovering column, nitrogen monoxide is recovered as methyl nitrite and methyl nitrite is circulatively fed to the reactor, (D) dimethyl carbonate is separated from methanol by extractive distillation while adding further dimethyl oxalate to the absorption solution and (E) dimethyl carbonate is separated from a mixture of the separated dimethyl carbonate and dimethyl oxalate by distillation.
TANAKA HIDEJI
YOSHIDA SHINICHI
