Hoechst Aktiengesellschaft

Richard Schuller

Hubert Neumaier

Manfred Finke

Wilhelm Vogt

Gunther Lenz

Kurt Sennewald

Production of nitrilotriacetonitrile by reacting a salt of ammonia and a non-oxidizing acids with formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide in an aqueous acid phase, at elevated temperature, completing the reaction and separating the reaction mixture into firstly crystalline nitrilotriacetonitrile and secondly an aqueous acid phase as the mother liquor. More particularly, a product obtained by primary reaction of an aqueous ammonium salt solution with an aqueous formaldehyde solution, the ammonium salt and formaldehyde being used in a ratio larger than 1:6, is reacted with a stoichiometric proportion of an aqueous hydrogen cyanide solution, the said stoichiometric proportion being based on the formaldehyde concentration of the primary reaction product.

Process for the manufacture of nitrilotriacetonitrile

Production of halogen-containing tertiary phosphine oxides of the general formula I ##EQU1## in which the substituents R.sub.1, R.sub.2 and R.sub.3, being identical or different, stand for an alkyl, alkenyl, aryl or aralkyl radical, at least one of those radicals containing at least one aliphatically combined halogen atom. The compounds are made by reacting one or more compounds of the general formula II ##EQU2## in which R.sub.4, R.sub.5 and R.sub.6, being identical or different, stand for an alkyl, alkenyl, aryl or aralkyl radical, at least one of those R.sub.4, R.sub.5 and R.sub.6 radicals containing an aliphatically combined hydroxyl group, with at least equivalent proportions, based on the number of hydroxyl groups, of gaseous hydrogen halide with agitation, if desired, at temperatures within the range about 100.degree. and 300.degree.C; freeing the reaction mixture, during the reaction or after termination thereof, from water originating from the reaction; and separating from the resulting reaction mixture the halogen-containing tertiary phosphine oxide by distillation or crystallization.

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Cologne-Holweide, undefined

Richard Schuller