Processes for the preparation of N-(long-chain acyl)amino acid and salt thereof, and intermediate amidonitrile and process for the preparation thereof

摘要

To provide processes suitable for industrial production by which high-purity N-(long-chain acyl)amino acid and salt thereof can be prepared from inexpensive raw materials. An alkyl ester of a fatty acid (2) is reacted with an aminonitrile (3) in the presence of a basic catalyst to form an amidonitrile (1), the amidonitrile (1) is hydrolyzed into an N-(long-chain acyl)amino acid salt (4) in the presence of a basic substance, the pH of the resulting aqueous solution is adjusted to a pH from 1 to 5 with a mineral acid to form an N-(long-chain acyl)amino acid (5), and this amino acid is recovered.wherein R1CO- represents a fatty acid residue having 8 to 22 carbon atoms; R2 represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms; R3 represents an alkylene group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms; R4 represents an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms; and M represents a monovalent cation.