Basf Aktiengesellschaft

Gerhard Dietrich

Gerhard Nestler

Reinhard Herzog

Peter Ruckh

Alkyl esters of .alpha.,.beta.-monoolefinically unsaturated monocarboxylic acids are prepared by esterifying the monocarboxylic acid with an alcohol of 6 to 20 carbon atoms in the presence of from 0.1 to 5% by weight, based on the reaction mixture, of a strong acid and in the presence of a polymerization inhibitor and an oxygen-containing gas, at from 80.degree. to 150.degree. C., by a process in which the molar ratio of the monocarboxylic acid to the alcohol is from 1:0.8 to 1:1.2, and the water of reaction is separated off from the reaction mixture while passing an inert gas containing from 1 to 20% by volume of oxygen through the reaction mixture.

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Ludwigshafen, Germany

Gerhard Dietrich