摘要 |
An improved, optimized industrial process has been found for the hydrogenation of organic nitrites into primary amines, which essentially consists of contacting a dried charge of at least one organic nitrile, aqueous alkali metal hydroxide, at least one Raney slurry hydrogenation catalyst, water and hydrogen for an effective time and at an effective temperature and pressure, wherein the improvements comprise eliminating the steps of drying the charge and adding water and reducing the required water to about 0.2%. Secondary and tertiary amine formation is low, as is moisture content and neither precious metals such as rhodium, nor strategic metals, such as cobalt nor ammonia gas nor solvents are required. Surprisingly, it has been found that water levels less than that taught in the prior art are effective at suppressing secondary and tertiary amine production, while still producing repeatable product on an industrial scale and with reduced cycle time, energy and catalyst charge.
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