Ammonia → Lactic acid ammonium lactate

The process resulted in the mixture containing a viscous phase that adhered to the bottom of the stainless steel beaker that it had been heated and mixed in. Based on an ammonia analysis of the residue, and the overall mass balance, it appeared that there was about 80 wt % removal of ammonia. About 27 wt % of the ammonia was removed in overhead vapors, while about 53 wt % of the ammonia was converted to new lactamide that was not present at the start of the run. About 20 wt % of the ammonia was not removed from the system. The final water content was about 0.4 wt %. Salt solutions provide significant boiling point elevation, and water is strongly attracted to ammonium lactate, and thus it would be unlikely to obtain a concentrated lactic acid/ammonium lactate solution with less than 0.4 wt % water at an exit temperature of 160° C. Lactic dimer and trimer levels increased 2-fold and 3-fold, respectively in the bottoms product relative to their amounts in the feed stream.