Simultaneous recovery of pure ammoni- um sulfate and pure lactams from re- arrangement mixtures of alicyclic ketoximes

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR THE SIMULTANEOUS RECOVERY OF PURE AMMONIUM SULFATE AND PURE LACTAM HAVING FROM SEVEN TO ELEVEN RING MEMBERS FROM A MIXTURE WHICH HAS BEEN OBTAINED BY BECKMANN REARRANGEMENT OF A CYCLOALKANONE OXIME HAVING FROM SIX TO TEN RING CARBON ATOMS WITH A COMPOUND SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF SULFURIC ACID CONTAINING FROM 98 TO 100% BY WEIGHT OF H2SO4 AND OLEUM CONTAINING FROM 0 TO 35% BY WEIGHT OF SO3 AND WHICH CONTAINS FROM 30 TO 50% BY WEIGHT OF LACTAM, WHICH PROCESS COMPRISES NEUTRALIZING THE REARRANGEMENT MIXTURE WITH AMMONIA IN THE PRESENCE OF FIVE TO FIFTY TIMES THE AMOUNT (WITH REFERENCE TO THE WEIGHT OF REARRANGEMENT MIXTURE) OF A 25 TO 45 WEIGHT PERCENT AMMONIUM SULFATE SOLUTION AT A NEUTRALIZATION TEMPERATURE OF 30* TO 100* C. FORMING TWO LIQUID PHASES COMPOSED OF CRUDE AQUEOUS LACTAM AND AMMONIUM SULFATE SOLUTION SEPARATING THE CRUDE AQUEOUS LACTAM PHASE FROM THE AMMONIUM SULFATE SOLUTION PHASE, CONCENTRATING THE SEPARARED AMMONIUM SULFATE SOLUTION BY EVAPORATION UNTIL SUCH AN AMOUNT OF AMMONIUM SULFATE HAS PRECIPITATED AS CORRESPONDS TO THE AMOUNT OF SULFURIC ACID INTRODUCED WITH THE REACTION MIXTURE, SEPARATING THE CRYSTALLIZED AMMONIUM SULFATE IN THE FORM OF PURE AMMONIUM SULFATE CRYSTALS, DILUTING ALL OF THE MOTHER LIQUOR WITH SUCH AN AMOUNT OF WATER AS IS NECESSARY TO RESTORE THE AMMONIUM SULFATE SOLUTION TO A 25 TO 45 WEIGHT PERCENT AMMONIUM SULFATE SOLUTION, RECYCLING ALL OF THE DILUTED MOTHER LIQUOR TO THE NEUTRALIZATION ZONE, EXTRACTING THE SEPARATED CRUDE LACTAM PHASE WITH FROM THREE TO TWELVE TIMES ITS WEIGHT OF AN AROMATIC HYDROCARBON SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF BENZENE, TOLUENE AND XYLENE, SEPARATING THE RESULTANT AQUEOUS PHASE, WHICH IS A WATER SOLUTION OF THE IMPURITIES IN SAID SEPARATED CRUDE LACTAM, AND DISTILLING THE LACTAM SOLUTION OBTAINED TO RECOVER THE PURE LACTAM.