Roche Vitamins Inc.

Johann Riegl

Bruno Burdet

Juan Ramon Herguijuela

August Ruettimann

Thomas Netscher

Konrad Bruggemann

A process for the production of 3-hydroxypropionitrile is provided. This process includes (a) reacting acrylonitrile with water at a defined molar ratio in the presence of a weak base under specific temperature and pressure conditions until a conversion in the range of about 40% to about 80% has been achieved; (b) after cooling the mixture obtained in (a), separating off its aqueous phase; (c) distilling off the acrylonitrile from the organic phase remaining after (b); (d) subjecting the mixture obtained in (c) to pyrolysis at specific temperature and pressure conditions in the presence of a basic catalyst to obtain a mixture consisting mainly of 3-hydroxypropionitrile and acrylonitrile; and (e) isolating the desired 3-hydroxypropionitrile by fractional distillation from the mixture obtained in (d). Such a process in which the basic aqueous phase and the acrylonitrile that has been distilled off are recycled represents a preferred embodiment.

Process for producing 3-hydroxypropionitrile

A method of producing .alpha.-tocopherol from non-.alpha.-tocopherols is disclosed. In the disclosed method, non-.alpha.-tocopherols are hydroxymethylated and reduced to .alpha.-tocopherol in a single step by reacting formaldehyde or a formaldehyde-producing compound with the non-.alpha.-tocopherol under catalytic reducing conditions in a reaction mixture containing the non-.alpha.-tocopherol, formaldehyde or formaldehyde-producing compound and boric acid or a boric acid-producing compound dispersed in a solvent of an azeotropic mixture of trimethyl borate and methanol and a non-polar organic solvent.

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Munich, Georgia

Johann Riegl