Production of acetic acid

Claim 1

IN A PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF ACETIC ACID BY THE INTERACTION OF CARBON MONOXIDE AND METHANOL IN A REACTION ZONE IN THE PRESENCE OF A CARBONYL OF A METAL OF THE IRON GROUP OF THE PERIODIC SYSTEM AND A SUBSTANCE SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF BROMINE, IODINE AND COMPOUNDS OF SAID HALOGENS UNDER A PRESSURE OF 200 TO 700 ATMOSPHERES AND AT A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN 150* AND 300*C., THE IMPROVEMENT OF COOLING SUBSTANTIALLY ALL OF THE GAS ESCAPING FROM SAID REACTION ZONE, SAID GAS CONTAINING CARBON DIOXIDE AS AN INERT IMPURITY; BRINGING THE COOLED GAS INTO CONTACT WITH THE LIQUID REACTION PRODUCTS CONTAINING ACETIC ACID AND METHYL ACETATE AS WASHING LIQUID UNDER A PRESSURE IN A RANGE OF BETWEEN ABOUT THE REACTION PRESSURE AND A PRESSURE 30 ATMOSPHERES LESS THAN THE REACTION PRESSURE, THEREBY TRANSFERRING CARBON DIOXIDE FROM SAID GAS INTO SAID WASHING LIQUID; SEPARATING THE PURIFIED GAS FROM THE WASHING LIQUID; RETURNING THE PURIFIED GAS TO THE REACTION ZONE; DECOMPRESSING SAID WASHING LIQUID TO REMOVE THEREFROM A GAS CONTAINING CARBON DIOXIDE; SEPARATING THE METHYL ACETATE FROM THE LIQUID REACTION PRODUCTS; AND RETURNING SAID METHYL ACETATE TO THE REACTION ZONE.