Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc.

Akihiro Honma

Masahiro Kurokawa

Tsuyoshi Isozaki

There is disclosed a process for producing a glycidyl ester of acrylic acid or methacrylic acid which comprises the steps of neutralizing acrylic acid or methacrylic acid with a carbonate or a bicarbonate of an alkali metal in an excess amount of epichlorohydrin while an oxygen-containing gas is blown into the liquid reaction system; subjecting water formed by the neutralization and epichlorohydrin to azeotropic distillation to discharge them outside the reaction system and to form an alkali metal salt of acrylic acid or methacrylic acid; adding a quaternary ammonium salt as a catalyst to the reaction system to react the alkali metal salt of the acid with the epichlorohydrin and thus synthesize the glycidyl ester of the acid; cooling the liquid reaction product while recovering part of the excess epichlorohydrin under reduced pressure; adding aqueous solution of an alkali hydroxide to the liquid reaction product to separate into aqueous layer and organic layer; adding a catalyst deactivator to the organic phase; and subsequently distilling the organic layer to separate the glycidyl ester of the acid while blowing an oxygen-containing gas into the organic layer. The above process makes it possible to efficiently produce a highly pure glycidyl ester of acrylic acid or methacrylic acid in high yield with minimized contents of impurities.

Process for producing glycidyl ester of acrylic acid or methacrylic acid

There are disclosed a process for producing glycidyl acrylate or glycidyl methacrylate by the transesterification of glycidol and methyl methacrylate, etc. which process comprises carrying out the transesterification in the presence of a polymerization inhibitor by using, as a catalyst, a quaternary ammonium salt represented by the general formula (I) or a quaternary phosphonium salt represented by the general formula (II)

Process for producing glycidyl acrylate or glycidyl methacrylate

A method of purifying a crude glycidyl (meth)acrylate, by (1) subjecting a crude glycidyl (meth)acrylate containing epichlorohydrin and other chlorine compounds as impurities to a stripping treatment with a mixed gas containing oxygen gas in the presence of a quaternary ammonium salt, and then (2) distilling the treated product to obtain a purified glycidyl (meth)acrylate.

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Hiratsuka, Japan

Akihiro Honma