Continuous preparation of alkyl esters of (meth) acrylic acid

In a process and an apparatus for the continuous preparation of alkyl esters of (meth)acrylic acid by reacting (meth)acrylic acid with alkanols having from 1 to 5 carbon atoms in a homogeneous, liquid, solvent-free phase at elevated temperature and in the presence of an acid esterification catalyst, in which the (meth)acrylic acid, the alkanol and the catalyst are fed to a reaction zone, the water formed is removed by rectification during a residence time as constituent of a mixture comprising alkanol in a rectification unit superposed on the reaction zone, the distillate thus obtained is separated into an organic phase comprising alkanol and an aqueous phase comprising water, the organic phase is returned to the rectification unit, the reaction mixture is discharged from the reaction zone and conveyed into a distillative separation zone comprising further rectification units and in the latter the alkyl (meth)acrylate formed is separated off.