Epoxidation

Claim 1

A continuous process for the epoxidation of allyl chloride by reaction with a peracid to produce epichlorohydrin, comprising the cyclic steps of: (a) providing an aqueous phase comprising sulphuric acid, hydrogen peroxide and water; (b) providing an organic phase comprising propionic acid and an organic solvent selected from the group consisting of chlorinated hydrocarbons and hydrocarbons; (c) contacting said aqueous and organic phases counter-currently to produce an aqueous solution comprising sulphuric acid and water and an organic solution comprising perpropionic acid and organic solvent; (d) utilising at least a portion of said aqueous solution to provide at least a portion of the aqueous phase of step (a); (e) reacting at least a portion of the perpropionic acid of said organic solution and allyl chloride to produce a mixture comprising epichlorohydrin, propionic acid and organic solvent, said organic solvent being non-reactive under the reaction conditions; (f) effecting distillation of said product mixture to produce a product phase comprising the epichlorohydrin and a recycle phase comprising propionic acid and organic solvent; and (g) utilising at least a portion of said recycle phase to form at least a portion of the organic phase of step (b).