The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 19, 1985
Filed:
Mar. 18, 1982
Kuraray Co., Ltd., Kurashiki, JP;
Abstract
A process for producing methyl lactate by (I) hydroformylating vinyl acetate or vinyl propionate with a gaseous mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide in an organic solvent in the presence of a substantially water-insoluble rhodium complex and a tri-substituted phosphine to form .alpha.-acetoxy- or propionyloxy-propionaldehyde, (II) subjecting at least part of the reaction mixture obtained in step (I) to extraction with an aqueous medium to obtain an aqueous layer containing .alpha.-acetoxy- or propionyloxy-propionaldehyde and an extraction residue containing the catalyst components, and recycling the extraction residue to the hydroformylation step (I), (III) separating .alpha.-acetoxy- or propionyloxy-propionaldehyde from the aqueous layer containing the same as obtained in step (II), (IV) oxidizing .alpha.-acetoxy- or propionyloxy-propionaldehyde obtained in step (III) in the liquid phase with oxygen gas or an oxygen-containing gas in the presence of an oxidation catalyst to form .alpha.-acetoxy- or propionyloxy-propionic acid, and (V) reacting .alpha.-acetoxy- or propionyloxy-propionic acid obtained in step (IV) with methanol in the presence of an acid catalyst, and recovering the resultant methyl lactate by distillation.