Claims
- 1. The method of preparing a butyrolactone acetic acid having the structure ##STR16## wherein R is hydrogen or hydrocarbyl of 1 to about 300 carbon atoms, said method comprising the steps of (1) reacting an alkenyl succinic anhydride, wherein the first and second carbon atoms attached to the succinyl group are unbranched, with a mineral acid in the presence of water thereby forming a reaction mixture of said butyrolactone acetic acid and by-product alkenyl succinic diacid, (2) treating said reaction mixture with an inert organic solvent and distilling, thereby withdrawing said solvent, said mineral acid and water from said reaction mixture and converting said by-product alkenyl succinic diacid to anhydride, and (3) subsequently treating the mixture of said butyrolactone acetic acid and alkenyl succinic anhydride with mineral acid in the presence of water thereby increasing the butyrolactone acetic acid content of said mixture.
- 2. The method described in claim 1 wherein said mineral acid is hydrochloric acid and said inert organic solvent is toluene.
- 3. The method described in claim 1 wherein said alkenyl succinic anhydride is n-hexadecenyl succinic anhydride.
- 4. The method described in claim 1 wherein said steps (2) and (3) are repeated, thereby further increasing the butyrolactone acetic acid content of said mixture.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 355,360, filed Apr. 27, 1973, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,925,232, which, in turn, is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 212,626, filed Dec. 27, 1971, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
3155685 |
Prill et al. |
Nov 1964 |
|
3936472 |
Kinney et al. |
Feb 1976 |
|
Continuation in Parts (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
355360 |
Apr 1973 |
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Parent |
212626 |
Dec 1971 |
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