A method and apparatus are disclosed for the recovery of ethylene glycol in a polyethylene terephthalate(PET) production process, in which water accumulating in the esterification reaction is mixed with a process fluid containing 2-methyl-1,3-dioxolane (MDO). The mixing is carried out in a tank arranged upstream of a rectification column. Through the increase in the water content in the fluid, a shift in the reaction equilibrium takes place and consequently a cleavage of the 2-methyl-1,3-dioxolane present into ethylene glycol and acetaldehyde takes place. Following the cleavage reaction, the mixture is fed from the tank into a rectification column, whereby the ethylene glycol produced from the cleavage reaction is returned to the PET production process.