Apparatus for regenerating poly(METH)acrylic acid ester, method for regenerating poly(METH)acrylic acid ester, and method for producing (METH)acrylic acid ester

Abstract

The present invention provides: an apparatus for regenerating a poly(meth)acrylic acid ester, with which water can be efficiently removed when a poly(meth)acrylic acid ester is regenerated; a method for regenerating a poly(meth)acrylic acid ester; and a method for producing a (meth)acrylic acid ester.　The present invention relates to an apparatus 100 for regenerating a poly(meth)acrylic acid ester, the apparatus including: a pyrolysis unit 10 in which a poly(meth)acrylic acid ester is pyrolyzed to obtain a gaseous pyrolysis product; a first cooling unit 20 in which the gaseous pyrolysis product is cooled to obtain a liquid pyrolysis product; a refining unit 30 in which the liquid pyrolysis product is refined to obtain a gaseous refined product; a second cooling unit 40 in which the gaseous refined product is cooled to obtain a liquid refined product; and a dehydration unit 50 in which water contained in the liquid pyrolysis product and / or the liquid refined product is removed.

Description

Poly(meth)acrylic acid ester recycling treatment device, poly(meth)acrylic acid ester recycling treatment method, and (meth)acrylic acid ester manufacturing method

[0001] The present invention relates to a recycling treatment apparatus for poly(meth)acrylic acid esters, a recycling treatment method for poly(meth)acrylic acid esters, and a method for producing (meth)acrylic acid esters.

[0002] Poly(meth)acrylic acid esters obtained by polymerizing (meth)acrylic acid esters have excellent transparency and weather resistance, and are therefore widely used as materials for components constituting automobile parts, signboards, display devices, etc.

[0003] Meanwhile, with the recent rise in resource prices and growing awareness of environmental issues, there has been a growing trend to collect and recycle molded articles containing poly(meth)acrylic acid esters.

[0004] One known method for recycling molded articles containing poly(meth)acrylic acid esters is to recover the monomers obtained by thermal decomposition (depolymerization) of the poly(meth)acrylic acid esters and then use these monomers to produce new molded articles (hereinafter also referred to as chemical recycling).Poly(meth)acrylic acid esters are suitable for regeneration treatment by chemical recycling because the monomers, which are the pyrolysis products, can be recovered in high yield by heating at a relatively low temperature of about 300° C. to 500° C.

[0005] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a method in which a resin product containing a poly(meth)acrylic acid ester is heated in a heating furnace to obtain a gaseous pyrolyzate, which is then cooled and liquefied, and the liquefied pyrolyzate is then purified by distillation to recover the (meth)acrylic acid ester.

[0006] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-321571

[0007] Because poly(meth)acrylic esters have the property of absorbing water, there is a risk of water being mixed into a poly(meth)acrylic ester recycling treatment device. One method for removing water mixed into the recycling treatment device along with the poly(meth)acrylic ester is to remove it in a purification process for removing impurities contained in the pyrolyzed product. However, if the target of the purification treatment contains water, the amount of energy required for the purification process may increase compared to when the target does not contain water. In view of the above circumstances, an object of one embodiment of the present disclosure is to provide a poly(meth)acrylic ester recycling treatment device, a poly(meth)acrylic ester recycling treatment method, and a (meth)acrylic ester manufacturing method that can efficiently remove water in the poly(meth)acrylic ester recycling treatment.

[0008] Means for solving the above problems include the following embodiments. <1> A recycling treatment device for poly(meth)acrylic ester, comprising: a pyrolysis section that thermally decomposes poly(meth)acrylic ester to obtain a gaseous pyrolysate; a first cooling section that cools the gaseous pyrolysate to obtain a liquid pyrolysate; a purification section that purifies the liquid pyrolysate to obtain a gaseous purified product; a second cooling section that cools the gaseous purified product to obtain a liquid purified product; and a dehydration section that removes water contained in at least one of the liquid pyrolysate or the liquid purified product. <2> The recycling treatment device according to <1>, wherein the dehydration section includes a dehydration section arranged upstream of the purification section. <3> The recycling treatment device according to <1> or <2>, wherein the dehydration section includes a dehydration section arranged downstream of the purification section. <4> The recycling treatment device according to any one of <1> to <3>, further comprising a first storage section that stores the liquid pyrolysate. <5> The recycling treatment device according to any one of <1> to <4>, further comprising a second reservoir for storing a liquid purified product. <6> The recycling treatment device according to any one of <1> to <5>, wherein the purified product contains methyl (meth)acrylate. <7> A method for recycling a poly(meth)acrylic ester, comprising: a pyrolysis step of pyrolyzing a poly(meth)acrylic ester to obtain a gaseous pyrolysate; a first cooling step of cooling the gaseous pyrolysate to obtain a liquid pyrolysate; a purification step of purifying the liquid pyrolysate to obtain a gaseous purified product; a second cooling step of cooling the gaseous purified product to obtain a liquid purified product; and a dehydration step of removing water contained in at least one of the liquid pyrolysate or the liquid purified product. <8> A method for producing a (meth)acrylic acid ester, comprising: a pyrolysis step of pyrolyzing a poly(meth)acrylic acid ester to obtain a gaseous pyrolysate; a first cooling step of cooling the gaseous pyrolysate to obtain a liquid pyrolysate; a purification step of purifying the liquid pyrolysate to obtain a gaseous purified product; a second cooling step of cooling the gaseous purified product to obtain a liquid purified product; and a dehydration step of removing water contained in at least one of the liquid pyrolysate and the liquid purified product.

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, there are provided a poly(meth)acrylic acid ester recycling treatment device, a poly(meth)acrylic acid ester recycling treatment method, and a (meth)acrylic acid ester manufacturing method, which are capable of efficiently removing water in the recycling treatment of poly(meth)acrylic acid ester.

[0010] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example configuration of a playback processing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0011] <First embodiment> A first embodiment of the present disclosure is a poly(meth)acrylic acid ester recycling treatment device including: a pyrolysis section that thermally decomposes a poly(meth)acrylic acid ester to obtain a gaseous pyrolysate; a first cooling section that cools the gaseous pyrolysate to obtain a liquid pyrolysate; a purification section that purifies the liquid pyrolysate to obtain a gaseous purified product; a second cooling section that cools the gaseous purified product to obtain a liquid purified product; and a dehydration section that removes water contained in at least one of the liquid pyrolysate or the liquid purified product.

[0012] In the recycling treatment device of this embodiment, the poly(meth)acrylic acid ester is thermally decomposed in the thermal decomposition section to obtain a gaseous pyrolysate. The gaseous pyrolysate may contain impurities other than the (meth)acrylic acid ester in addition to the (meth)acrylic acid ester to be recovered. For this reason, in the recycling treatment device of this embodiment, the pyrolysate is purified in the purification section to remove impurities contained in the pyrolysate.

[0013] The thermal decomposition product of poly(meth)acrylic ester may contain water as an impurity. The boiling point of water is 100°C, which is slightly different from the boiling point of methyl methacrylate, 101°C. Therefore, attempting to separate methyl methacrylate and water in the purification section may increase energy consumption due to an increase in the number of distillations, etc. Therefore, the regeneration treatment device of this embodiment has a first cooling section that cools the gaseous thermal decomposition product obtained in the thermal decomposition section to obtain a liquid thermal decomposition product, a second cooling section that cools the gaseous purified product obtained in the purification section to obtain a liquid purified product, and a dehydration section that removes water from at least one of the liquid thermal decomposition product obtained in the first cooling section and the liquid purified product obtained in the second cooling section. That is, in the regeneration treatment device of this embodiment, water removal in the regeneration treatment of poly(meth)acrylic ester is mainly performed in the dehydration section. Therefore, the load on the purification process is effectively reduced compared to when water removal is performed in the purification section. The components included in the regeneration treatment device of this embodiment are described below.

[0014] (Thermal Decomposition Section) The recycling treatment device of this embodiment includes a thermal decomposition section. The thermal decomposition section thermally decomposes the poly(meth)acrylic acid ester to obtain a gaseous pyrolysate (hereinafter also referred to as pyrolysis gas). As the thermal decomposition section, any conventionally known device having a suitable configuration capable of thermally decomposing the poly(meth)acrylic acid ester can be used. Examples of the thermal decomposition section include an extruder, a kneader, and a fluidized bed heater.

[0015] From the viewpoint of efficiently carrying out the thermal decomposition treatment of the poly(meth)acrylic acid ester, the thermal decomposition section preferably includes an extruder. Suitable examples of extruders that can be included in the thermal decomposition section include twin-screw extruders such as twin-screw co-rotating extruders and twin-screw counter-rotating extruders. The extruder is a device that includes an inlet for raw materials, a cylinder, and a screw disposed inside the cylinder, and is capable of conveying the raw materials introduced through the inlet in a predetermined direction while heating them.

[0016] An example of a kneader that can be included in the pyrolysis section is the device described in US Pat. No. 10,301,235.

[0017] An example of a fluidized bed heater that can be included in the thermal decomposition section is the device described in JP-A-2009-112902.

[0018] The temperature at which the poly(meth)acrylic acid ester is thermally decomposed in the thermal decomposition section may be selected from the range of, for example, 300°C to 500°C, 400°C to 500°C, or 450°C to 500°C.

[0019] The poly(meth)acrylic acid ester supplied to the pyrolysis section may be in the form of, for example, a molded product containing the poly(meth)acrylic acid ester. Examples of molded products containing the poly(meth)acrylic acid ester include cast molded products and extrusion molded products. From the viewpoint of compatibility with chemical recycling treatment, cast molded products are preferred as molded products containing the poly(meth)acrylic acid ester. The molded product containing the poly(meth)acrylic acid ester may be a molded product recovered as waste material after being used for a specific purpose. The size of the molded product containing the poly(meth)acrylic acid ester may be adjusted by cutting, pulverization, etc.

[0020] The molded article containing the poly(meth)acrylic acid ester supplied to the pyrolysis section may contain components other than the poly(meth)acrylic acid ester, such as additives such as a mold release agent, a polymerization regulator, a polymerization initiator, an ultraviolet absorber, and a colorant, as well as substances derived from parts adhering to the molded article containing the poly(meth)acrylic acid ester.

[0021] The poly(meth)acrylic acid ester supplied to the thermal decomposition section may contain polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or polymethyl acrylate (PMA), which are polymers mainly composed of methyl methacrylate (MMA) or methyl acrylate (MA).

[0022] In the present disclosure, "(meth)acrylic" includes acrylic, methacrylic, and combinations thereof.

[0023] In the present disclosure, "poly(meth)acrylic acid ester" refers to a polymer having structural units derived from a (meth)acrylic acid ester, which is a monomer having a (meth)acryloyl group. Preferred examples of poly(meth)acrylic acid ester include a homopolymer consisting only of structural units derived from a (meth)acrylic acid ester having an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and a copolymer consisting of structural units derived from a (meth)acrylic acid ester having an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms and structural units derived from a vinyl monomer (hereinafter also referred to as "other vinyl monomer") copolymerizable with a (meth)acrylic acid ester having an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms. The proportion of monomer units derived from other vinyl monomers in the copolymer is preferably greater than 0% by mass and 15% by mass or less.

[0024] Specific examples of (meth)acrylic acid esters having an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms include methyl (meth)acrylate, ethyl (meth)acrylate, n-propyl (meth)acrylate, isopropyl (meth)acrylate, n-butyl (meth)acrylate, tert-butyl (meth)acrylate, sec-butyl (meth)acrylate, and isobutyl methacrylate. Of these, methyl (meth)acrylate is more preferred.

[0025] Specific examples of vinyl monomers copolymerizable with (meth)acrylic acid esters having an alkyl group of 1 to 4 carbon atoms include (meth)acrylic acid esters other than (meth)acrylic acid esters having an alkyl group of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, such as cyclohexyl (meth)acrylate, benzyl (meth)acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl (meth)acrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl (meth)acrylate, hydroxypropyl (meth)acrylate, and monoglycerol (meth)acrylate; unsaturated carboxylic acids or acid anhydrides thereof, such as acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, maleic acid, itaconic acid, maleic anhydride, and itaconic anhydride; nitrogen-containing monomers, such as acrylamide, methacrylamide, acrylonitrile, methacrylonitrile, diacetone acrylamide, and dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate; epoxy group-containing monomers, such as allyl glycidyl ether, glycidyl acrylate, and glycidyl methacrylate; and styrene-based monomers, such as styrene and α-methylstyrene.

[0026] (First Cooling Section) The regeneration treatment device of this embodiment includes a first cooling section. The first cooling section cools and liquefies the gaseous pyrolysate obtained in the pyrolysis section. The temperature at which the gaseous pyrolysate is cooled is preferably lower than the boiling point of the substance contained in the gaseous pyrolysate to be recovered. When the gaseous pyrolysate contains methyl methacrylate or methyl acrylate to be recovered, it is preferable to cool the gaseous pyrolysate at a temperature lower than 101°C, the boiling point of methyl methacrylate, or lower than 80°C, the boiling point of methyl acrylate. The configuration of the first cooling section is not particularly limited, and a known device such as a condenser can be applied.

[0027] (Purification section) The regeneration treatment device of this embodiment includes a purification section. The purification section purifies the liquid pyrolysate obtained in the first cooling section to obtain a gaseous purified product. In this disclosure, "purification of the pyrolysate" means increasing the proportion of the components to be recovered among the components contained in the pyrolysate.

[0028] The liquid pyrolysate introduced into the purification section may or may not contain water. When the liquid pyrolysate introduced into the purification section contains water, the water may or may not be removed in the purification section. The configuration of the purification section is not particularly limited, and a known purification device such as a purification column can be used.

[0029] (Second Cooling Section) The regeneration treatment device of this embodiment includes a second cooling section. The second cooling section cools and liquefies the gaseous purified product obtained in the purification section. The temperature at which the gaseous purified product is cooled is preferably lower than the boiling point of the substance to be recovered contained in the gaseous purified product. When the gaseous purified product contains methyl methacrylate or methyl acrylate to be recovered, it is preferable to cool the gaseous purified product at a temperature lower than 101°C, the boiling point of methyl methacrylate, or lower than 80°C, the boiling point of methyl acrylate. The configuration of the second cooling section is not particularly limited, and a known device such as a condenser can be applied.

[0030] (Dehydration Section) The regeneration treatment device of this embodiment includes a dehydration section. The dehydration section removes water contained in at least one of the liquid pyrolysate obtained in the first cooling section and the liquid purified product obtained in the second cooling section. In this disclosure, "removal of water" includes complete removal of water contained in the pyrolysate or purified product, and reducing the amount of water contained in the pyrolysate or purified product to an acceptable level.

[0031] The inclusion of a dehydration section in the regeneration treatment device reduces the need to remove water from the pyrolysate in the purification section, thereby reducing the burden associated with the purification process. As a result, the regeneration process of the poly(meth)acrylic ester can be carried out with less energy. Alternatively, effects such as suppression of the polymerization reaction of the (meth)acrylic ester in the purification section can be expected.

[0032] In the regeneration treatment device, the position of the dehydration unit is not particularly limited, and it may be located upstream of the purification unit, downstream of the purification unit, or both upstream and downstream of the purification unit. From the viewpoint of effectively reducing the load of the purification treatment in the purification unit, it is preferable that the dehydration unit be located at least upstream of the purification unit.

[0033] The method of treatment (hereinafter also referred to as dehydration treatment) for removing water contained in the liquid pyrolysate or liquid purified product in the dehydration section is not particularly limited. Specific examples of dehydration treatment methods include liquid-liquid separation, freeze concentration separation, distillation separation, membrane separation, adsorption separation, absorption separation, ultrasonic atomization separation, and chromatography. Freeze concentration separation, distillation separation, membrane separation, adsorption separation, absorption separation, ultrasonic atomization separation, and chromatography are preferred, and adsorption separation and absorption separation are more preferred. These methods can remove water contained in the liquid pyrolysate or liquid purified product more accurately than, for example, liquid-liquid separation. Examples of adsorption separation include a method in which water is adsorbed (physically adsorbed) by fine pores. Preferred examples of adsorption separation include zeolite, molecular sieves, activated carbon, and the like.

[0034] From the viewpoint of efficiency of the dehydration treatment, it is preferable to carry out the dehydration treatment by contacting a substance having a dehydrating function with the liquid pyrolysate or liquid purified product. The dehydrating function includes the function of adsorbing or absorbing water.

[0035] The dehydration treatment may be carried out in a state where the liquid pyrolysate or liquid purified product is flowing or stationary, but from the viewpoint of the efficiency of the dehydration treatment, it is preferable to carry out the dehydration treatment in a state where the liquid pyrolysate or liquid purified product is flowing.

[0036] The amount of water removed from the liquid pyrolysate or liquid purified product in the dehydration section is not particularly limited. For example, the amount of water removed in the dehydration section is preferably an amount such that the water content of the liquid pyrolysate or liquid purified product after dehydration treatment is preferably 1% by mass or less, more preferably 0.5% by mass or less, even more preferably 0.1% by mass or less, and particularly preferably 0.05% by mass or less.

[0037] The temperature at which the dehydration treatment is carried out may be a temperature at which the liquid pyrolysate or liquid purified product does not gasify. When the liquid pyrolysate or liquid purified product contains methyl methacrylate or methyl acrylate, the dehydration treatment is preferably carried out at a temperature lower than 101°C, which is the boiling point of methyl methacrylate, or lower than 80°C, which is the boiling point of methyl acrylate.

[0038] (First storage unit) The regeneration treatment device of this embodiment may include a first storage unit that stores liquid pyrolysate. The first storage unit is provided, for example, between the first cooling unit and the purification unit, and stores the liquid pyrolysate supplied from the first cooling unit and supplies the liquid pyrolysate to the purification unit. The first storage unit may have a dehydration unit disposed therein. The configuration of the first storage unit is not particularly limited, and a known device such as a tank can be applied.

[0039] (Second storage section) The regeneration treatment device of this embodiment may include a second storage section that stores the liquid purified product. The second storage section is provided, for example, downstream of the second cooling section and stores the liquid purified product supplied from the second cooling section. The second storage section may have a dehydration section disposed therein. The configuration of the second storage section is not particularly limited, and a known device such as a tank can be applied.

[0040] (Partial condenser) The regeneration treatment device of this embodiment may include a partial condenser. The partial condenser condenses (liquefies) and removes substances (hereinafter also referred to as high-boiling-point impurities) that have a boiling point higher than that of the substances to be recovered contained in the gaseous pyrolysate obtained in the pyrolysis section. By disposing the partial condenser downstream of the pyrolysis section, it is possible to remove the high-boiling-point impurities contained in the gaseous pyrolysate, and further reduce the load of the purification process in the purification section.

[0041] The removal of high-boiling impurities by a partial condenser is carried out, for example, at a temperature equal to or higher than the boiling point and lower than the ignition point of the substance contained in the thermal decomposition product to be recovered, and lower than the boiling point and higher than the melting point of the high-boiling impurities. That is, the high-boiling impurities are removed while the thermal decomposition product as a whole remains in a gaseous state. Examples of high-boiling impurities removed by a partial condenser include colorants that may be contained in the molded product together with the (meth)acrylic acid ester.

[0042] The regeneration treatment device of this embodiment may include components other than those described above without any particular limitation. For example, the regeneration treatment device of this embodiment may include a pump, various measuring instruments, etc. There is no particular limitation on the means for connecting the components that make up the regeneration treatment device of this embodiment, and known piping can be applied.

[0043] The recycling processing device of this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the drawings merely show the shapes, sizes, and arrangements of the components in a schematic manner to enable understanding of the present disclosure. The present disclosure is not limited by the following description, and each component can be modified within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0044] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a regeneration treatment device according to this embodiment. The regeneration treatment device 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a pyrolysis section 10 that thermally decomposes a poly(meth)acrylic acid ester to obtain a gaseous pyrolysate, a first cooling section 20 that cools the gaseous pyrolysate to obtain a liquid pyrolysate, a purification section 30 that purifies the liquid pyrolysate to obtain a gaseous purified product, a second cooling section 40 that cools the gaseous purified product to obtain a liquid purified product, and a dehydration section 50 that removes water from at least one of the liquid pyrolysate or the liquid purified product. The regeneration treatment device 100 shown in FIG. 1 may optionally include a first storage section 60 that stores the liquid pyrolysate and a second storage section 70 that stores the liquid purified product. The regeneration treatment device 100 shown in FIG. 1 may optionally include a partial condenser 80 between the pyrolysis section 10 and the first cooling section 20 that removes high-boiling-point impurities from the pyrolysate.

[0045] The location of the dehydration unit 50 in the regeneration treatment device 100 is not particularly limited as long as it is a location where water contained in the liquid pyrolyzed product or the liquid purified product can be removed. The number of locations where the dehydration unit 50 is arranged in the regeneration treatment device 100 may be one or two or more.

[0046] When removing water contained in the liquid pyrolysis product using the dehydration section 50, specific examples of the dehydration section 50 included in the regeneration treatment device 100 include: a dehydration section 50a arranged between the first cooling section 20 and the purification section 30; a dehydration section 50b arranged between the first cooling section 20 and the first storage section 60; a dehydration section 50c arranged between the first storage tank 60 and the purification section 30; and a dehydration section 50d arranged inside the first storage tank 60.

[0047] When removing water contained in the liquid purified product using the dehydration unit 50, specific examples of the dehydration unit 50 included in the regeneration treatment device 100 include: a dehydration unit 50e arranged between the second cooling unit 40 and the second storage unit 70; and a dehydration unit 50f arranged inside the second storage tank 70.

[0048] <Second embodiment> A second embodiment of the present disclosure is a method for recycling a poly(meth)acrylic acid ester, including: a pyrolysis step of pyrolyzing a poly(meth)acrylic acid ester to obtain a gaseous pyrolysate; a first cooling step of cooling the gaseous pyrolysate to obtain a liquid pyrolysate; a purification step of purifying the liquid pyrolysate to obtain a gaseous purified product; a second cooling step of cooling the gaseous purified product to obtain a liquid purified product; and a dehydration step of removing water contained in at least one of the liquid pyrolysate or the liquid purified product.

[0049] According to the method of the present embodiment, it is possible to recover a (meth)acrylic acid ester obtained by thermally decomposing a poly(meth)acrylic acid ester as a raw material.

[0050] The method of this embodiment includes a dehydration step in which water is removed from at least one of the liquid pyrolysate obtained in the first cooling step and the liquid purified product obtained in the second cooling step. The inclusion of the dehydration step effectively reduces the burden of the purification treatment in the purification step. As a result, the regeneration treatment of the poly(meth)acrylic acid ester can be carried out with less energy. Alternatively, the effect of suppressing the polymerization reaction of the (meth)acrylic acid ester in the purification section can be expected.

[0051] The dehydration step may be carried out before the purification step, after the purification step, or both before and after the purification step. From the viewpoint of effectively reducing the burden of the purification treatment in the purification step, it is preferable to carry out the dehydration step at least before the purification step. When the dehydration step is carried out after the purification step, the moisture that was not removed in the purification step can be removed or reduced in the dehydration section. This reduces the energy required for the purification step.

[0052] The method of this embodiment can be carried out using, for example, the above-mentioned apparatus for regenerating poly(meth)acrylic acid ester.

[0053] <Third embodiment> A third embodiment of the present disclosure is a method for producing a (meth)acrylic acid ester, including: a pyrolysis step of pyrolyzing a poly(meth)acrylic acid ester to obtain a gaseous pyrolysate; a first cooling step of cooling the gaseous pyrolysate to obtain a liquid pyrolysate; a purification step of purifying the liquid pyrolysate to obtain a gaseous purified product; a second cooling step of cooling the gaseous purified product to obtain a liquid purified product; and a dehydration step of removing water contained in at least one of the liquid pyrolysate and the liquid purified product.

[0054] According to the method of the present embodiment, it is possible to produce a (meth)acrylic acid ester that can be used as a raw material for a poly(meth)acrylic acid ester.

[0055] The method of this embodiment includes a dehydration step in which water is removed from at least one of the liquid pyrolysate obtained in the first cooling step and the liquid purified product obtained in the second cooling step. The inclusion of the dehydration step effectively reduces the burden of the purification treatment in the purification step. As a result, the regeneration treatment of the poly(meth)acrylic acid ester can be carried out with less energy. Alternatively, the effect of suppressing the polymerization reaction of the (meth)acrylic acid ester in the purification section can be expected.

[0056] The dehydration step may be carried out before the purification step, after the purification step, or both before and after the purification step. From the viewpoint of effectively reducing the burden of the purification treatment in the purification step, it is preferable to carry out the dehydration step at least before the purification step.

[0057] The method of this embodiment can be carried out using, for example, the above-mentioned apparatus for regenerating poly(meth)acrylic acid ester.

[0058] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Pyrolysis section 20 First cooling section 30 Purification section 40 Second cooling section 50 Dehydration section 60 First storage section 70 Second storage section 80 Partial condenser 100 Regeneration treatment device

Claims

1. A poly(meth)acrylic ester regeneration treatment device comprising: a pyrolysis section for obtaining a gaseous pyrolysate by pyrolyzing a poly(meth)acrylic ester; a first cooling section for cooling the gaseous pyrolysate to obtain a liquid pyrolysate; a purification section for purifying the liquid pyrolysate to obtain a gaseous purified product; a second cooling section for cooling the gaseous purified product to obtain a liquid purified product; and a dehydration section for removing water contained in at least one of the liquid pyrolysate or the liquid purified product.

2. The regeneration treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the dehydration section includes a dehydration section disposed upstream of the purification section.

3. The regeneration treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the dehydration section includes a dehydration section disposed downstream of the purification section.

4. The recycling treatment device according to claim 1, further comprising a first storage section for storing liquid pyrolysis products.

5. The regeneration treatment device according to claim 1, further comprising a second reservoir for storing the liquid refined product.

6. The regeneration treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the refined product comprises methyl (meth)acrylate.

7. A method for regenerating a poly(meth)acrylic ester, comprising: a pyrolysis step of pyrolyzing a poly(meth)acrylic ester to obtain a gaseous pyrolysate; a first cooling step of cooling the gaseous pyrolysate to obtain a liquid pyrolysate; a purification step of purifying the liquid pyrolysate to obtain a gaseous purified product; a second cooling step of cooling the gaseous purified product to obtain a liquid purified product; and a dehydration step of removing water contained in at least one of the liquid pyrolysate or the liquid purified product.

8. A method for producing a (meth)acrylic ester, comprising: a pyrolysis step of pyrolyzing a poly(meth)acrylic ester to obtain a gaseous pyrolysate; a first cooling step of cooling the gaseous pyrolysate to obtain a liquid pyrolysate; a purification step of purifying the liquid pyrolysate to obtain a gaseous purified product; a second cooling step of cooling the gaseous purified product to obtain a liquid purified product; and a dehydration step of removing water contained in at least one of the liquid pyrolysate or the liquid purified product.

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