Claims
- 1. In a process for preparing a tert-amine oxide by reacting a tert-amine with aqueous hydrogen peroxide, the improvement which comprises conducting at least the latter part of the reaction in the presence of a nonionic surfactant as the sole organic solvent; at least a portion of the nonionic surfactant being a compound corresponding to the formula Z[OC(Z')HCH.sub.2 ].sub.m OH in which Z is an alkylphenyl group wherein alkyl group contains 4-30 carbons, Z' is hydrogen or an alkyl or hydroxyalkyl group containing 1-3 carbons, and m is an integer of 1-100.
- 2. The process of claim 1 wherein the tert-amine is reacted at a temperature of 60.degree.-80.degree. C. with at least a stoichiometric amount of an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution having a concentration of 50-70% by weight in the initial absence of the nonionic surfactant, which is added gradually during the reaction so as to maintain the reaction mixture stirrable.
- 3. The process of claim 2 wherein the amount of the nonionic surfactant added is such as to provide an amine oxide/nonionic surfactant weight ratio in the range of about 0.1-10/1 and a water content not higher than about 30% by weight in the final reaction mixture.
- 4. The process of claim 3 wherein the final water content is not higher than about 25% by weight.
- 5. The process of claim 4 wherein the final water content is not higher than about 10% by weight.
- 6. The process of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the water in the mixture resulting from the reaction is removed under reduced pressure.
- 7. The process of claim 1 wherein the tert-amine is a compound corresponding to the formula RR'R"N in which R, R', and R" are primary alkyl groups containing 1-30 carbons.
- 8. The process of claim 7 wherein R is methyl or ethyl, R' is an alkyl group containing 6-20 carbons, and R" is independently selected from methyl, ethyl, and alkyl groups containing 6-20 carbons.
- 9. The process of claim 8 wherein R and R" are methyl.
- 10. The process of claim 1 wherein the compound corresponding to the formula Z[OC(Z')HCH.sub.2 ].sub.m OH is the sole nonionic surfactant solvent.
- 11. The process of claim 10 wherein Z' is hydrogen.
- 12. The process of claim 11 wherein m is an integer of 2-15.
Parent Case Info
This application is a division of application Ser. No. 524,497, filed May 17, 1990, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
3565810 |
Mausher et al. |
Feb 1971 |
|
4748275 |
Smith et al. |
May 1988 |
|
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
56061349 |
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JPX |
1087413 |
Oct 1967 |
GBX |
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
524497 |
May 1990 |
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