Dehydration and fractionation of crude pyridine

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR CONTINUOUS DEHYDRATION AND FRACTIONATION OF CRUDE PYRIDINE, COMPRISING IN COMBINATION THE FOLLOWING STEPS: (A) SUBJECTING CRUDE PYRIDINE TO FRACTIONAL DISTILLATION IN A FIRST FRACTIONATING COLUMN IN ORDER TO OBTAIN A DISTILLATION RESIDUE CONSISTING OF CRUDE PYRIDINE SUBSTANTIALLY FREED FROM WATER AND AN OVERHEAD DISTILLATE CONSISTING SUBSTANTIALLY OF A CONSTANT BOILING MIXTURE OF PYRIDINE AND WATER; (B) CONDENSING AND COOLING SAID OVERHEAD DISTILLATE, MIXING IT IN A SEPARATING VESSEL WITH CAUSTIC SODA LYE AND BENZENE SIMULTANEOUSLY, AND ALLOWING IT TO SEPARATE INTO A FIRST, PREDOMINANTLY BENZENE AND PYRADINE- CONTAINING LAYER AND A SECOND, PREDOMINANTLY ALKALI-AND WATER-CONTAINING LAYER; (C) SUPPLYING LIQUID FROM SAID FIRST LAYER TO THE UPPER TRAY OF SAID FIRST COLUMN; (D) SUPPLYING LIQUID FROM SAID SECOND LAYER TO THE UPPER TRAY OF A SECOND FRACTIONATING COLUMN IN ORDER TO OBTAIN AS A DISTILLATION RESIDUE WATER AND AN OVERHEAD DISTILLATE CONSISTING SUBSTANTIALLY OF A CONSTANT BOILING MIXTURE OF PTRIDINE AND WATER; (E) CONDENSING AND INTRODUCING SAID OVERHEAD DISTILLATE OF SAID SECOND COLUMN INTO SAID SEPARATING VESSEL AND SUBJECTING THE RESULTING DEHYDRATED CRUDE PYRIDINE TO FRACTIONAL DISTILLATION.