Basf Aktiengesellschaft

Ulrich Hoercher

Peter Lechtken

Barbara Jessel

Harald Laas

Bernhard Bockstiegel

Paul Grafen

2,3,5-Trimethyl-p-benzoquinone is prepared by oxidation of trimethylphenol with oxygen or an oxygen-containing gas in the presence of a catalyst containing a copper(II) halide in a two-phase reaction medium consisting of water and an aliphatic alcohol at elevated temperatures by a process in which the reaction is carried out in a mixture of water and a saturated aliphatic alcohol of 12 to 18 carbon atoms, having a flashpoint greater than 120.degree. C., such as 1-dodecanol, 1-tetradecanol, 1-hexadecanol or 1-octadecanol, in particular 1-dodecanol, and at from 60.degree. to 100.degree. C. Particularly good yields of TMQ are obtained if the reaction is carried out in the presence of a copper(II) halide, such as CuCl.sub.2 or CuBr.sub.2, and of an alkaline earth metal halide, in particular CaCl.sub.2 or MgCl.sub.2, or of an alkali metal halide, in particular LiCl or NaCl, as the catalyst system.

Preparation of 2,3,5-trimethyl-p-benzoquinone

Undesirable odors are removed from fatty ester mixtures which, in addition to other components, contain the esters of highly unsaturated fatty acids, in particular of highly unsaturated 3-fatty acids, such as eicosapentaenoic acid or docosahexaenoic acid, by a process in which the fatty ester mixture is treated with a complex hydride, in particular with sodium borohydride solution. The process is particularly suitable for removing undesirable odors from fatty ester mixtures obtained from fish oil, for example by transesterification with an alkanol of 1 to 3 carbon atoms.

Deodorization of fatty ester mixtures

d-.alpha.-Tocopherol is prepared from a mixture obtained from natural intermediates and containing .alpha.-, .beta.-, .gamma.- and .delta.-tocopherols, by methylation at the aromatic ring of the tocopherols by reaction with formaldehyde or with a compound which donates formaldehyde under the reaction conditions, and subsequent catalytic hydrogenation, by a process in which the reaction with formaldehyde or with the formaldehyde donor is carried out at from 150.degree. to 200.degree. C. in the presence of an alkyl ester of phosphoric or phosphorous acid.

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Mannheim, Germany

Ulrich Hoercher