Claims
- 1. A method for preparing a nonionic surfactant comprising alkoxylated derivatives of an alcohol, comprising:
- (a) solubilizing, at least partially, calcium oxide, calcium hydroxide, or mixtures thereof, by mixing any of them with an activator having the formula: ##STR7## wherein R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and lower alkyl groups of one to four carbon atoms; n is an integer from 2 to 4; X and Y are the same or different electronegative, hetero-atoms selected from the group consisting of oxygen and nitrogen; a and b are the same or different integers satisfying the valency requirements of X and Y; Z and Z' are the same or different and are either hydrogen or an organic radical which does not prevent said solubilizing, thereby forming a calcium-containing composition which has titratable alkalinity;
- (b) removing water which is formed or present during the method;
- (c) stripping off activator which is not bound to calcium;
- (d) reacting the calcium-containing composition with a monohydric, aliphatic alcohol having about 8 to 20 carbons under conditions at which an alcohol exchange reaction occurs with the calcium-containing composition, thereby producing the corresponding alcohol derivative of the calcium-containing composition;
- (e) adding a sufficient amount of sulfuric acid to neutralize about 25% to about 75% of the titratable alkalinity;
- (f) introducing an alkylene oxide under conditions at which an alkoxylation reaction will occur, thereby producing alkoxylated derivatives of the alcohol; and
- (g) recovering said derivatives; wherein steps (c), (d) and (e) are interchangeable in any combination in said method.
- 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the activator is ethylene glycol.
- 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the activator is monoethanolamine.
- 4. The method of claim 1 wherein steps (c) and (d) are reversed in order.
- 5. The method of claim 1 wherein steps (d) and (e) are reversed in order.
- 6. The method of claim 1 wherein steps (c) and (e) are reversed in order.
- 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the alcohol is n-dodecanol or a mixture of C.sub.12 and C.sub.14 alcohols.
- 8. A method of claim 1 wherein the alkylene oxide is ethylene oxide.
- 9. The method of claim 1 wherein the activator is diethylene glycol.
- 10. The method of claim 1 wherein the alcohol is a mixture of C.sub.8 -C.sub.10 alcohols.
- 11. The method of claim 1 wherein the alkylene oxide is ethylene oxide and propylene oxide.
- 12. The method of claim 1 wherein the mole ratio of reacted alkylene oxide per active hydrogen is at least about 4.
Parent Case Info
This application is a division of prior U.S. application Ser. No. 621,991, filed June 22, 1984, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 510,804, filed July 5, 1983, both abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (8)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
26546 |
Apr 1981 |
EPX |
26547 |
Apr 1981 |
EPX |
Non-Patent Literature Citations (2)
Entry |
Turova et al., Russian Chemical Reviews, Mar. 1965, pp. 161-185. |
Kochurovskaya et al., Kriobiol, Kriomed. 3, 1977, pp. 76-79. |
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
621991 |
Jun 1984 |
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
510804 |
Jul 1983 |
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