| abstract |
A process comprising: (a) distilling a melt comprising crude alkanesulfonic acid to completely or partly remove low boilers, wherein the low boilers are drawn off at the top of a distillation column or of a one-stage evaporation apparatus and a material stream comprising alkanesulfonic acid, high boilers and residual low boilers is withdrawn at the bottom of the distillation column or of the one-stage evaporation apparatus, (b) sending the stream comprising alkanesulfonic acid, high boilers and residual low boilers into a melt crystallization as the starting melt to obtain crystals formed from the alkanesulfonic acid, hydrates of the alkanesulfonic acid or a mixture of both suspended in mother liquor, (c) performing a solid-liquid separation to remove the crystals from the mother liquor, and (d) optionally washing the crystals to remove mother liquor adhering to the crystals. |