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Run your analysis now →https://www.patsnap.com/resources/blog/rd-blog/process-intensification-reactive-distillation-column-patent-landscape-patent-landscape/ · Patsnap · data cut-off 2026-08-31 · downloaded from the live page
Patent Landscape BriefReactive Distillation Column Patents: Who Leads and Where Filings Are Slowing
A data-led look at reactive distillation column patents: 1,077 records, filing trends since 2017, technology composition across IPC classes, and where filing concentration sits among the ranked leaders.
1,077
Published Records
25%
Top-5 Share of All Records
-53%
Filing Growth 2021→2024
CN
Leading Jurisdiction
Filing growth = 2021 (62 records) → 2024 (29); 2024 is the last year we treat as complete. Top-5 share = the 5 largest assignees ÷ all 1,077 records in scope (CR5), not the ranked leaders only.
Published byPatsnap Research··7 min readSourced from Patsnap Eureka
Overview
What the reactive distillation column patent landscape covers
Reactive distillation combines reaction and separation in a single column, cutting equipment count and energy use for equilibrium-limited reactions such as esterification and transalcoholisation. This landscape covers 1,077 patent records published between 2015 and the August 2026 data cut-off, drawn from filings that either name a reactive distillation column directly or claim a distillation column configuration alongside process-intensification language such as intensified reactor or continuous flow reactor.
Filing activity spans major chemical-manufacturing jurisdictions, with China, the United States and the European Patent Office receiving the largest volumes. The technology composition skews heavily toward organic chemistry classes, reflecting that most claims protect a specific reaction run inside the column rather than the column as a generic apparatus.
Records in scope by filing year and receiving office
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee ranking and totals. Derived from a Patsnap search on Process Intensification: Reactive Distillation Column Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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Filing Data
Filing trends and technology composition
The filing curve and class breakdown below are drawn from the full 1,077-record set in scope, spanning receiving offices in China, the United States, Europe, WIPO, South Korea and India.
Filings rose to a 2021 peak, then eased
Annual filings climbed from 34 in 2017 to a peak of 62 in 2021, then declined to 29 by 2024 — a -53% move over that three-year span. 2025 and 2026 figures are still incomplete because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the most recent two years understate actual filing activity.
Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in. Growth rates on this page therefore end at 2024; running them to the last bar would understate the field.
Organic chemistry and separation dominate the class mix
C07C (acyclic and carbocyclic compounds) appears in 69.9% of the 1,077 records, far ahead of B01D separation processes at 34.6% and B01J catalysis at 19.4%. Because records can carry multiple IPC classes, these shares sum to more than 100%; the pattern shows most filings pair a specific reaction chemistry with a separation or catalysis claim rather than claiming the reactive-distillation column as a standalone apparatus.
Shares are the percentage of the 1,077 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Process Intensification: Reactive Distillation Column Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.
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The records anchoring this landscape
Representative Recent Filing
Method for controlling a reactive distillation column
BASF SE
A method for controlling a reactive distillation column running a transalcoholisation reaction: a metal methoxide is fed via a side feed, a reactant alcohol enters the lower part of the column, methanol is withdrawn from the top, and a solution of a product metal alkoxide in the reactant alcohol is withdrawn from the bottom. The claimed process control uses a scheme built on a signal responsive to temperature in the rectifying section above the metal-methoxide feed.Filed by BASF SE, published 2024-01-18 — illustrates how recent claims narrow to a specific control signal and feed geometry rather than the column itself.
Most-cited and representative filings
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US6093842A | Process for continuous production of carbonate esters | 146 |
| 2 | DE102008007081A1 | Producing n-butene-oligomers and 1-butene from mixture-I made of hydrocarbons having four carbon atoms, compr… | 142 |
| 3 | US4435595A | Reactive distillation process for the production of methyl acetate | 122 |
| 4 | JP2001064235A | Production of diaryl carbonate | 115 |
| 5 | US20100029959A1 | Process for producing epoxides | 90 |
| 6 | WO2000018720A1 | Process for continuous production of carbonate esters | 85 |
| 7 | JP1986291545A | Production of carbonic acid ester | 79 |
| 8 | US4939294A | Preparation of ultra high purity methyl acetate | 69 |
| 9 | JP2001064234A | Production of aromatic carbonate | 66 |
| 10 | WO2007106100A1 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONVERSION OF ß -HYDROXY CARBONYL COMPOUNDS | 57 |
Ranked by citation count within the searched corpus; citation counts favour older records and should be read as a signal of influence rather than current importance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Citation counts and representative records. Derived from a Patsnap search on Process Intensification: Reactive Distillation Column Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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What the filing data means for strategy
Four figures from the dataset point to where the field is settled, where it is still open, and who is positioned to enforce.
Concentration
25.0%
of 1,077 records held by the top 5 assignees
Filing is concentrated but not locked up
A quarter of all records in scope belong to five assignees, and the top ten reach 39.6%. That leaves roughly three-fifths of filings spread across a long tail of single-digit and single-filing entrants — enough headroom for new entrants who avoid the core claim territory of the leaders.
Based on the 100-company ranked list returned by the dataset.
Filing momentum
-53%
change in filings, 2021 peak to 2024
The 2021 peak has passed, recent years are still filling in
Filings dropped from a peak of 62 in 2021 to 29 in 2024. Because publication lags filing by about 18 months, 2025 and 2026 figures are not yet complete, so this reading should stop at 2024 rather than extending the decline into the most recent years shown on any chart.
Growth figure fixed to the 2021-to-2024 window; do not extrapolate beyond it.
Claim architecture
69.9%
of records carry a C07C organic-chemistry class
Reaction chemistry, not the column, is what gets claimed
Nearly seven in ten records carry a C07C class alongside the reactive-distillation claim, and over a third also carry a B01D separation class. Claims are built around a named reaction plus a separation or catalyst detail, which is the pattern any new filing needs to match or improve on to clear prior art.
Classes overlap per record, so shares sum above 100% by design.
Citation depth
146 citations
on the most-cited record, a carbonate ester process
Ester and carbonate chemistry are the most-referenced ground
The most-cited records in the corpus cover continuous carbonate ester production and methyl acetate reactive distillation, both decades old and still drawing heavy citation. That depth signals settled engineering rather than open opportunity for those specific reactions.
Citation counts favour older records within the searched corpus; treat as influence, not current relevance.
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Joint filing is rare
| Assignee | Co-assignee | Shared families |
|---|---|---|
| Sulzer Chemtech Ltd. | Wacker Chemie AG | 23 |
| Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij B.V. | Shell Oil Company | 5 |
| Dow Global Technologies LLC | PATRASCU RENATE P | 5 |
| Dow Global Technologies LLC | NOORMANN SASCHA N | 5 |
| Dow Global Technologies LLC | KNEUPPER CHRISTIAN D | 5 |
| Dow Global Technologies LLC | FAN WILLIAM W | 5 |
| Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corporation | MIYAJI HIRONORI | 4 |
| Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corporation | MATSUZAKI KAZUHIKO | 4 |
Only 10 co-assignee pairs exist across the dataset; the strongest pairing files together on 23 records, well ahead of the next pairs at 5 records each — most assignees protect this technology solo rather than through joint filings.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Co-assignee relationships and derived observations. Derived from a Patsnap search on Process Intensification: Reactive Distillation Column Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Next Steps
Where to take this analysis
The figures above establish the shape of the field. The next step is testing a specific filing, route or competitor position against the full record set.
Check freedom to operate on a specific route
Run the reaction, feed geometry and control variable you plan to claim against the full corpus, not just the most-cited records, to see what is already occupied.
Open Eureka to run a claim checkTrack a specific assignee's portfolio depth
Concentration at the top of the ranking means a handful of filers are worth watching closely for continuation filings and new control-scheme variants.
Open Eureka to monitor an assigneeScope the under-claimed branches before filing
Fuels, hydrocarbon oils and refining-integration classes carry lighter filing density than the core organic-chemistry classes — worth checking before assuming they are crowded.
Open Eureka to explore white spaceSource: Patsnap Eureka. Forward-looking reading of the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Process Intensification: Reactive Distillation Column Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
FAQ
Common questions about reactive distillation column patents
Filing activity is concentrated among a small group of large chemical and process-engineering companies, with the leading assignee holding 73 records in the ranking. The top five combined account for 25.0% of the 1,077 records in scope, and the top ten reach 39.6%, so roughly two-fifths of all filing activity sits with a small set of repeat filers. Beyond that group there is a long tail of single- or few-filing entrants, which is typical of a mature but still active process-engineering field.
Annual filings rose from 34 in 2017 to a peak of 62 in 2021, then fell to 29 by 2024, a -53% change over that three-year window. That decline should be read against the fact that publication lags filing by about 18 months, so the 2025 and 2026 counts in any chart are necessarily incomplete rather than evidence of a continuing fall. Taken together, the data shows a filing wave that peaked around 2021 and has since cooled from that peak, not a field in terminal decline.
C07C, covering acyclic and carbocyclic organic compounds, is present in 69.9% of the 1,077 records, making named organic reactions — esterification, transalcoholisation, carbonate and oligomer chemistry among them — the dominant use case for the column rather than the apparatus alone. B01D separation processes appear in 34.6% of records and B01J catalysis-related processes in 19.4%, reflecting that most claims combine the reaction with either a separation-stage detail or a catalyst system. Heterocyclic chemistry (C07D, 11.4%) and condensation polymers (C08G, 8.0%) are present but far less central.
US20240018078A1, filed by BASF SE with a publication date of 2024-01-18, covers a method for controlling a reactive distillation column running a transalcoholisation reaction, where a metal methoxide is fed via a side feed and methanol is withdrawn overhead. Its claimed control schemes are based on specific signals — for example a temperature signal taken in the rectifying section above the metal-methoxide feed — rather than the column or the reaction generically. This makes it a narrow but real freedom-to-operate consideration for anyone running the same feed geometry and control logic in a metal-alkoxide process, while leaving alternative control variables and feed points open.
China leads receiving-office volume with 247 filings, followed by the United States at 135, the European Patent Office at 119, WIPO/PCT filings at 82, South Korea at 62 and India at 60. This spread indicates the technology is being protected across the major chemical-manufacturing and chemical-consuming regions rather than concentrated in a single jurisdiction, which matters for anyone planning a freedom-to-operate check across multiple markets.
Answers are grounded in the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Process Intensification: Reactive Distillation Column Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company's registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.