Process for preparing dialkyl carbonates

摘要

A industrially advantageous process for preparing dialkyl carbonates is provided. The process is characterized in that an alkylene carbonate and an alcohol are subjected to an transesterification in the presence of a catalyst which contains, as the catalytically active component, at least one rare-earth oxide. According to this process, the transesterification progresses rapidly due to the excellent activity of the catalyst, and the catalyst can be readily separated after termination of the reaction, allowing high efficiency isolation and purification of dialkyl carbonate.