Process for producing a polyoxyalkylenecarboxylic acid

摘要

A process for producing a polyoxyalkylenecarboxylic acid which comprises: (A) a step of obtaining a salt of a polyoxyalkylenecarboxylic acid by reacting a polyoxyalkylene compound having hydroxyl group at one or both ends of the molecule with a salt of a halogenated acetic acid or a salt of a halogenated propionic acid in an amount of 4 to 50 mol per 1 mol of the polyoxyalkylene compound and an alkali metal hydroxide in an amount of 8 to 70 mol per 1 mol of the polyoxyalkylene compound in the presence of an organic solvent at 80 to 150°C; (B) a step of converting the obtained salt of a polyoxyalkylenecarboxylic acid into the polyoxyalkylenecarboxylic acid by adjusting pH of the reaction mixture obtained in step (A) to 3 or less by adding an inorganic acid; (C) a step of removing byproducts and the like by washing the obtained solution containing the polyoxyalkylenecarboxylic acid with an aqueous solution of an inorganic salt; and (D) a step of removing the organic solvent and water at a decreased pressure at 50 to 120°C and removing precipitated salts by filtration. A high purity, high molecular weight polyoxyalkylenecarboxylic acid which contains only small amounts of unreacted starting materials or byproducts can easily be obtained.