Butanal → Formate

Participants

Reaction Steps

In the process of the invention, n-butyraldehyde is firstly reacted with formaldehyde in the presence of a base. This reaction can be carried out in one or more stages. In the single-stage variant, the starting materials are reacted directly to form trimethylolpropane and a formate salt. In a two-stage variant, n-butyraldehyde and formaldehyde are firstly reacted in the presence of catalytic amounts of base to form 2,2-dimethylolbutanal, purification or separation steps are carried out if desired and only then is the 2,2-dimethylolbutanal reacted with further formaldehyde in the presence of stoichiometric amounts of base to form trimethylolpropane and formate salt.

Provenance & Evidence