Acetic Acid → 3-Acetylpyridine

Participants

Reaction Steps

A tubular reactor with an i. d. of 23.5 mm was filled with 270 ml (≈227 g) of catalyst from example 1. A mixture of butyl nicotinate (30 g/h), water (54 g/h) and acetic acid (210 g/h) was fed over an evaporator using a metering pump to the tubular reactor heated by a salt bath. A small flow of nitrogen (1 l/h) guaranteed the transport of the vapours. The temperature of the bath was 410° C. The reaction vapours were condensed in an aqueous circulation system. After a total running time of 35 h, the reaction solution was collected. A portion of this solution corresponding to a total of 710 g of butyl nicotinate was worked up to isolate the product. 81% of butyl nicotinate was converted to give 293 g of 3-acetyl-pyridine, corresponding to a selectivity of 75% and a yield of 61%. The selectivity of pyridine formation was 4%.

Provenance & Evidence