Degussa Aktiengesellschaft

Bernd Lehmann

Axel Kleemann

Klaus Deller

Karlheinz Drauz

Herbert Klenk

Jurgen Martens

There is disclosed a process for the production of 1,4-bis-[3-(3,4,5-trimethoxybenzyloxy)-propyl]-diazepane which consists of first reacting 3-aminopropanol with acrylonitrile and subsequently reacting in aqueous solution with formaldehyde and hydrocyanic acid or with formaldehyde and an alkali cyanide in the presence of alkali hydrogen sulfite to form cyanomethyl-(2-cyano-ethyl)-(3-hydroxy-propyl)-amine; hydrogenating the thus obtained reaction product in the presence of a hydrogenating catalyst and ammonia to 1 (3-hydroxy-propyl)-1,4-diazepane and reacting the latter compound for example with 3-halogen propanol or with allyl alcohol and introducing two 3,4,5-trimethoxy-benzoyl groups into the thus obtained reaction product by esterification.

Production of 1-(3-hydroxy-propyl)-1,4-diazepane and

.beta.-hydroxy-.alpha.-aminocarboxylic acids of the formula: ##STR1## where R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are hydrogen or an alkyl group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms are produced by hydrogenating the correspondingly substituted cyanohydrin in a water containing medium first in the presence of a hydrogenation catalyst and an acid at a temperature between -10.degree. and +40.degree. C. and a hydrogen pressure of less than 10 bar, until per mole of cyanohydrogen employed one mole of hydrogen is taken up and then employing the solution obtained as starting material for a Strecker or Bucherer synthesis of an amino acid.

Process for the production of .beta.-hydroxy-.alpha.-aminocarboxylic

1,2-Diols of the formula: ##STR1## where R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are hydrogen, alkyl of 1 to 10 carbon atoms or such as alkyl substituted by a halogen, a hydroxy group, a phenyl group, a methoxy group, or an ethoxy group, a phenyl group or a furyl group or R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 together form an alkylene group of 2 to 7 carbon atoms are formed by hydrogenating a correspondingly substituted cyanohydrin in an aqueous medium first in the presence of a hydrogenation catalyst and an acid at a temperature between -20.degree. and +25.degree. C. and a hydrogen pressure of less than 10 bar until per mole of cyanohydrin employed there is taken up one mole of hydrogen and then the hydrogenation continued to the end of the absorption of hydrogen in the presence of metallic nickel at a temperature between 30.degree. and 100.degree. C. and a hydrogen pressure between 10 and 150 bar.

Process for the production of 1,2-diols

Aqueous solutions of sodium salts of .alpha.-aminocarboxylic acids practically free of foreign salts are produced by saponifying the corresponding hydantoin at a temperature between 110.degree. C. and 180.degree. C. with a mixture, in each case based on the hydantoin, of 1 equivalent of sodium hydroxide and 2 equivalents of calcium oxide or hydroxide, separating off the precipitated calcium carbonate after the end of the saponification and concentrating the aqueous sodium salt solution remaining to drive off the ammonia contained therein.

Process for the production of aqueous solutions of sodium salts of .alpha.-

There are produced carboxylic acid cyanides, e.g., acyl cyanides by reacting a carboxylic acid halide with an alkali cyanide or hydrogen cyanide in the presence of a copper (I) salt and a carboxylic acid nitrile. Especially advantageous are glutaric acid dinitrile and 2-methyl glutaric acid dinitrile.

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Freigericht, Germany

Bernd Lehmann