Process for making 2-aminoethyl ether

摘要

The invention is a process for obtaining pure BAEE from the crude reaction mixture of H2SO4 and monoethanolamine. It consists of five major operations, which are: 1. Separation of 2-aminoethyl hydrogen sulfate (AEHS) from BAEE.2H2SO4 by mixing the molten crude product with crushed ice and filtering out the resulting AEHS which precipitates; 2. precisely neutralizing the acidity in the filtrate with alkali or alkaline earth hydroxides, NaOH to form Na2SO4 and free BAEE; 3. extracting the BAEE and small amounts of other amines from this neutralized solution with an alcohol solvent having limited solubility in water, such as n-butanol; 4. concentrating the amine extract by precipitating the amines in a separate, liquid layer by saturating the extract with carbon dioxide gas; and 5. obtaining pure BAEE from this concentrate by distillation (at atmospheric pressure through an efficient distillation column).