Production of diaryl carbonate este

Production of diaryl carbonate esters by reaction of a dialkyl carbonate and an aromatic alcohol to form a diaryl carbonate and an alkyl alcohol is accomplished by introducing three reactant streams into an extractive/reactive distillation column in the presence of a transesterification catalyst. The three reactant streams are a first reactant stream containing a dialkyl carbonate, a second reactant stream containing an aromatic alcohol, and a third reactant stream containing an entraining agent. The entraining agent is selected from among compounds that do not form azeotropes with the dialkyl carbonate or the alkyl alcohol and that boil at a higher temperature than either the dialkyl carbonate or the alkyl alcohol. The first reactant stream is introduced into the column below the second reactant stream, and the second reactant stream is introduced into the column below the third reactant stream. A product stream containing diaryl carbonate esters is recovered from the bottom of the column.