Abstract: A process for rapidly cooling gases which contain caprolactam vapor and which have been obtained by catalytic rearrangement of cyclohexanone-oxime in the gas phase in the presence of a supported catalyst containing boric acid, wherein a finely divided coolant at from 90.degree. to 200.degree. C. is fed into a cooling zone from above, gases which are at 330.degree.-400.degree. C. and contain caprolactam vapor are introduced radially at high speed through nozzle orifices over the downstream portion of the cooling zone, and are cooled to 100.degree.-200.degree. C. by thorough mixing with the finely divided coolant, and the cooled mixture is discharged.

Abstract: A process for the continuous preparation of .epsilon.-caprolactam by Beckmann rearrangement of cyclohexanone-oxime, dissolved in a solvent which is inert toward oleum and is immiscible with oleum and water, at an elevated temperature, with removal of the heat of rearrangement by evaporation of the solvent, wherein oleum containing caprolactam is circulated successively through a conveying zone, a mixing zone, a boiling zone and a separating zone, upstream of the conveying zone oleum is added at the rate at which it is consumed, in the mixing zone cyclohexanone-oxime dissolved in solvent is added under turbulent conditions, in the boiling zone the heat of rearrangement is removed in a conventional manner by evaporating the solvent and recycling the condensate, and in the separating zone the reaction mixture is separated into a solvent phase, from which solvent is withdrawn at the rate at which the phase is formed, and a caprolactam-containing oleum phase, which is removed at the rate at which it is formed.

Abstract: In a process for the preparation of .epsilon.-caprolactam by catalytic rearrangement of cyclohexanone-oxime in the gas phase at from 230.degree. to 450.degree. C. over a supported catalyst, containing boron trioxide, in a fluidized bed, wherein the catalyst is removed from the fluidized bed at the rate at which it becomes spent and is treated, in a fluidized state, with gases containing molecular oxygen at from 600.degree. to 900.degree. C., after which boron trioxide or boric acid is added to the fluidized catalyst, at from 300.degree. to 900.degree. C., before the catalyst is returned to the fluidized bed, the improvement that boron trioxide or boric acid of particle size from 0.05 to 1.5 mm is fed to the fluidized catalyst at one or more points.

Abstract: A process for purifying crude caprolactam which has been obtained by rearrangement of cyclohexanone-oxime in the gas phase over a catalyst containing boron trioxide, wherein caprolactam is crystallized out, by cooling, from a melt which contains, per 100 parts by weight of crude caprolactam, from 5 to 30 parts by weight of primary alkanols or fatty acids which have a carbon chain of 6 to 10 carbon atoms and are substituted by alkyl radicals of 1 to 5 carbon atoms, and from 0 to 5 parts by weight of water, and is separated from the mother liquor.

Abstract: Olefinically unsaturated aliphatic or cycloaliphatic hydrocarbons are manufactured by bringing alkanecarboxylic acids of 3 to 20 carbon atoms, alkanedicarboxylic acids of 4 to 20 carbon atoms or 5-membered or 6-membered cycloalkanecarboxylic acids or their alkyl, cycloalkyl, aralkyl or phenyl esters, in the gas phase, at from 250.degree. to 800.degree. C., into contact with catalysts in which the active composition consists of boron trioxide, boric acid and/or boron nitride, together with one or more of the oxides of aluminum, silicon, tin, lead, titanium and zirconium.

Abstract: In a process for the continuous extraction of caprolactam from crude lactam by means of benzene in counter-current, in which crude lactam is fed into the upper part of an extraction zone and benzene into the lower part, a solution of caprolactam in benzene is taken off at the top and an aqueous solution containing impurities is taken off at the bottom, the improvement that water is additionally fed into the upper part of the extraction zone and a part of the aqueous solution, containing impurities, obtained at the bottom of the extraction zone is recycled into the extraction zone. Caprolactam is used for the manufacture of nylon.

Abstract: A process for obtaining coarsely crystalline pure ammonium sulfate from reaction mixtures which have been obtained by Beckmann rearrangement of cyclohexanone-oxime with sulfuric acid or oleum, by neutralizing the mixtures with ammonia at an elevated temperature, with the addition of recycled ammonium sulfate mother liquor, the concentration being so chosen that during the neutralization no solid ammonium sulfate precipitates, separating the crude caprolactam from the ammonium sulfate solution, crystallizing ammonium sulfate by evaporating the ammonium sulfate solution under reduced pressure, separating off the crystallized ammonium sulfate and recycling the mother liquor to the neutralization stage. The neutralization is carried out at from 80.degree. to 115.degree. C. under autogenous pressure and the ammonium sulfate solution obtained after separating off the crude lactam is evaporated under a pressure of from 200 to 600 mm Hg while cooling to from 72.degree. to 101.degree. C.

Abstract: An improved process for the manufacture of cyclohexanone oxime by reacting cyclohexanone with an aqueous hydroxylammonium-ammonium sulfate solution at temperatures above the melting point of cyclohexanone oxime by the countercurrent process, the improvement consisting in that the reaction is carried out in the absence of solvents and neutralizing and/or buffer salts at pHs of up to 0.5 until equilibrium is reached, the oximes resulting during the reaction being separated from the aqueous phase and the aqueous phase being extracted with cyclohexanone and then subjected to steam distillation.

Abstract: A method of simultaneously purifying crude caprolactams obtained from the Beckmann rearrangement of cyclohexanone oxime in oleum and the gas-phase rearrangement of cyclohexanone oxime in the presence of catalysts. The improvement consists in that the crude caprolactam obtained from the catalytic gas-phase rearrangement is added to the acid rearrangement mixture derived from the Beckmann rearrangement in oleum and the mixture is maintained at temperatures of from 100.degree. to 200.degree. C with thorough mixing, whereupon it is neutralized and worked up. Advantageously, the content of lactam in the catalytic gas-phase rearrangement is from 5 to 30% of the content of lactam in the acid rearrangement mixture obtained from the Beckmann rearrangement.

Abstract: A process for processing polycaprolactam extraction liquors by evaporation of water and distillation of the residue in which the evaporation of water is carried out in a plurality of stages and the evaporation energy for the removal of the bulk of the water is taken from the heat liberated in the rearrangement of cyclohexanone oxime to caprolactam in oleum or sulfuric acid by using the extraction water for cooling the rearrangement mixture and utilizing the heat absorbed by the extraction water for the concentration of this extraction water by evaporation of water.

Abstract: A process for the partial dehydration of cyclohexanone oxime by treatment with aqueous solutions of inorganic salts, wherein the crude cyclohexanone oxime is extracted, above its melting point, with a concentrated ammonium salt solution and/or hydroxylammonium salt solution in countercurrent in an extraction column and the salt solution is then separated from the partly dehydrated cyclohexanone oxime, reconcentrated by evaporation and recycled to the oxime dehydration process. The cyclohexanone oxime melt which has been dehydrated to water contents of about 4 to 6% by weight is treated with a heated inert gas above its melting point and the off-gas is washed to remove entrained cyclohexanone oxime.