| abstract |
Method of preparing a carboxylic acid by acidifying a liquid feed comprising a carboxylate salt, a process comprising the steps of - providing a liquid feed comprising magnesium carboxylate, the liquid feed having a temperature of 60-120 ° C; - providing a gas feed comprising gaseous hydrogen chloride by subjecting an aqueous liquid comprising magnesium chloride to a thermal decomposition step in which the aqueous liquid comprising magnesium chloride is subjected to a temperature of at least 300 ° C, decomposing thus magnesium chloride in magnesium oxide and hydrogen chloride, thereby obtaining a solid comprising magnesium oxide and a gas comprising hydrogen chloride gas, the gas feed having a weight ratio of hydrogen chloride to water between 1:10 and 1: 4; and - acidifying the carboxylate to carboxylic acid by bringing the liquid feed into contact with the gas feed, thereby forming a liquid effluent comprising carboxylic acid and magnesium chloride, the process further comprising a separation step, in which the acid Carboxylic acid and chloride salt present in the liquid effluent are separated from each other, thereby obtaining a carboxylic acid product stream and a magnesium chloride solution or suspension, in which the magnesium chloride solution or suspension is provided in the form of a liquid comprising magnesium chloride at the thermal decomposition stage. |