Mitsui Toatsu Chemicals, Incorporated

Sinji Tokunoh

Minato Karasawa

Masamitsu Inomata

Kanemitsu Miyama

Hiroharu Kageyama

Takeshi Hiraiwa

Tadatoshi Honda

Masahiro Tokumitsu

Amides are produced by reacting nitriles with water in a liquid phase in the presence of a manganese oxide containing an element selected from Groups IIIA, IVA, VA, IIIB, IVB, VB , VIB and VIII of the Periodic Table.

Process for producing amide compounds

An .alpha., .beta.-unsaturated carboxylic acid is produced by catalytically reacting an .alpha.-hydroxycarboxylic acid amide of the formula (1), ##STR1## where R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl groups, provided that at least one of R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 is the alkyl group, with water in the presence of a solid acid catalyst containing a high surface area rare earth phosphate anhydride having the monoclinic system structure producible by heating a rare earth phosphate of the hexagonal system structure at 60.degree.-200.degree. C. in a solution of an inorganic acid, an inorganic acid salt and/or an inorganic acid ester where the molar ratio of the inorganic acid component to the rare earth phosphate of the hexagonal system structure is 0.5-400.

Process for producing .alpha., .beta.-unsaturated carboxylic acid

.alpha.,.beta.-Unsaturated carboxylic acid esters are produced by a catalytic reaction of .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated carboxylic acids and/or .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated carboxylic acid amides with aliphatic alcohols in the presence of a solid acid catalyst comprising zirconium oxide, titanium oxide or a composite oxide thereof containing phosphorus.

Process for producing .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated carboxylic acid esters

A method for preparing an .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated nitrile comprises bringing an .alpha.-oxycarboxylic acid amide represented by the following general formula: ##STR1## wherein R' and R' each represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group, with the proviso that at least one of R' and R' represents an alkyl group, into contact with a solid acid catalyst with heating in the presence of water in a molar ratio of not more than 15 with respect to the .alpha.-oxycarboxylic acid amide. The method makes it possible to directly produce an .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated nitrile at high yield and high selectivity utilizing an .alpha.-oxycarboxylic acid amide as a starting material, which can easily be obtained from an .alpha.-oxynitrile.

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Chiba, Japan

Sinji Tokunoh