Transesterification process

摘要

A transesterification process produces a (meth)acrylate ester product from a mixture comprising an alkyl(meth)acrylate reactant, an alcohol reactant, a catalyst, and a polymerization inhibitor. The mixture is subjected to reaction conditions sufficient to produce a product (meth)acrylate and a product alcohol, which are different than the reactants.

主权项

1. A process comprising:
a) forming a reaction mixture by admixing methyl methacrylate, a free radical polymerization inhibitor, hydroxyethyl ethylene urea and a catalyst comprising dibutylin oxide catalyst, wherein the reaction mixture further comprises at least 0.2 wt. % water, based on the weight of the reaction mixture; b) dehydrating the reaction mixture so that it contains less than 0.2 weight percent water, based on the weight of the reaction mixture; c) reacting the hydroxyethyl ethylene urea with the methyl methacrylate in a reaction zone at a temperature of from 70 to 125° C. and a pressure of from 100 mm Hg (13.3 kPa) to 900 mm Hg (120.0 kPa) to produce methacryloxyethyl ethylene urea and methanol; d) creating a crude product by removing a mixture of methyl methacrylate and methanol; e) optionally adding water to enable recycling of the catalyst; f) optionally recycling the methyl methacrylate; and g) optionally distilling the crude product.