Abstract: The invention relates to a process for working up wastewaters which are obtained in the purification of crude aromatic nitro compounds after the nitration of aromatic compounds, comprising the following steps: (a) single-stage or multistage washing of the crude aromatic nitro compound to obtain at least one organic phase and at least one aqueous phase, and removal of the aqueous phase or of the aqueous phases, step (a) comprising the addition of a base other than ammonia, and then (b) optional removal of organic constituents from at least a portion of the aqueous phase or aqueous phases obtained in step (a) by stripping, preferably with steam, then (c) removal of organic compounds from at least a portion of the aqueous phase or aqueous phases resulting from step (a) or step (b) by thermal and/or oxidative degradation, then (d) distillative depletion of ammonia from at least a portion of the aqueous phase or aqueous phases resulting from step (c), and then (e) optional supply of at least a portion of the aq

Abstract: An arrangement for carrying out chemical reactions comprises at least one distillation column and/or at least one container and at least one circulation evaporator, which are connected to one another via connecting elements, liquid being taken off completely or partly from a tray or from a stacked packing bed or from a dumped packing bed or from a liquid collector of the distillation column or being fed as an external feed stream below the lower tube sheet of the circulation evaporator to said evaporator.

Abstract: A process is provided for the preparation of polymethylol compounds of formula (I): (HOCH2)2—C—(R)2 , ??(I) in which the radicals R independently of one another are each a further methylol group, an alkyl group having from 1 to 22 C atoms or an aryl or aralkyl group having from 6 to 22 C atoms, by (a) condensing aldehydes having from 2 to 24 C atoms with formaldehyde in an aldol reaction using tertiary amines as a catalyst to give alkanals of formula (II): in which the radicals R independently of one another are each as defined above, (b) then separating, by distillation, the reaction mixture obtained into a bottom product comprising predominantly the compounds of formula II and a low-boiling stream consisting of unconverted or partially converted starting materials, and (c) hydrogenating the distillation bottom, wherein the aldol reaction is carried out with an aqueous formaldehyde solution having a methanol content of 0.35 to 0.

Abstract: The present invention provides a process for preparing 1,6-hexanediol from a carboxylic acid mixture which comprises adipic acid, 6-hydroxycaproic acid and small amounts of 1,4-cyclohexanediols and is obtained as a by-product in the oxidation of cyclohexane to cyclohexanone/cyclohexanol with oxygen or oxygen-containing gases and by water extraction of the reaction mixture, by esterification of the acids and hydrogenation, in which a) the mono- and dicarboxylic acids present in the aqueous dicarboxylic acid mixture are reacted with a low molecular weight alcohol to give the corresponding carboxylic esters, b) the resulting esterification mixture is freed of excess alcohol and low boilers in a first distillation stage, c) a separation of the bottom product is carried out in a second distillation stage into an ester fraction substantially free of 1,4-cyclohexanediols and a fraction comprising at least the majority of the 1,4-cyclohexanediols, d) the ester fraction substantially free of 1,4-cyclohexanediols is