Citronellol → Menthone

Participants

Reaction Steps

A process for producing menthol which comprises dehydrogenating citronellol in a reaction system containing a Raney-type catalyst or a metal oxide catalyst at a temperature of about 150° to about 260° C in an atmosphere of hydrogen under a pressure of 0 to about 5 kg/cm2.G to produce menthone as claimed in claim 1, and then, in the same reaction system without separating the catalyst or adding additional catalyst, hydrogenating the menthone produced by decreasing the temperature to about 110° to about 130° C and increasing the hydrogen pressure to about 10 to about 50 kg/cm2 to produce menthol.

Provenance & Evidence