Abstract: A process for separation of methacrylic acid from a methacrylic acid-containing, gaseous reaction mixture obtained by subjecting methacrolein or a compound which can afford methacrolein under reaction conditions and molecular oxygen to gas phase reaction in the presence of a catalyst for oxidation under the coexistence of an inert gas for dilution which comprises (a) cooling the gaseous reaction mixture from a reactor wherein the gas phase reaction has been effected to separate into condensable components including methacrylic acid, acetic acid and water vapor as a condensed liquor and non-condensable components including methacrolein as a non-condensed gaseous mixture, (b) eliminating contaminating methacrolein from the condensed liquor and (c) contacting the resulting condensed liquor with an organic solvent to extract methacrylic acid, followed by separation into an organic solvent solution including methacrylic acid and an aqueous solution as waste water, characterized in that (1) the inert gas for diluti

Abstract: An aqueous high concentration solution of tert-butyl alcohol can be produced with high conversion and high selectivity by using a material composition having special proportions of tert-butyl alcohol, water and isobutylene or an isobutylene-containing hydrocarbon mixture and reacting isobutylene with water in the presence of a cation exchange resin having sulfonic acid groups preferably in multi-stage reactors and separating inert hydrocarbons and unreacted isobutylene from the reaction solution in a distillation column.

Abstract: Lactones are separated from a mixture of (a) at least one member selected from the group consisting of hydroxy acids wherein the OH group and the COOH group are bonded through 3 or 4 carbon atoms, lactones derived therefrom, lower polymers of said hydroxy acids and/or said lactones and esters of said hydroxy acids and/or said lactones and (b) at least one member selected from the group consisting of hydroxy acids wherein the OH group and the COOH group are bonded through 5 carbon atoms, lactones derived therefrom, lower polymers of said hydroxy acids and/or said lactones and esters of said hydroxy acids and/or said lactones, by heating said mixture in the presence of one or more monovalent or bivalent aliphatic or alicyclic alcohols under the conditions so as to remove the lactones from said (a) by distillation.