Hydrogen Cyanide → Isophorone

Participants

Reaction Steps

To 622 g (4.5 mol) of isophorone there are added, at 120° C. over a period of 120min, a mixture of 207.3 g (1.5mol) of isophorone and 81 g (3.0 mol) of HCN in the presence of 5.2 g (0.02 mol) of a 50% strength aqueous tetramethylammonium methylcarbonate solution. 10 min after the end of the metering operation the HCN concentration is only 140 ppm. Following neutralization with 4 g of H3PO4 the mixture is distilled. Following a first runoff of 3 g, there are obtained 422.6 g of isophorone and 476.7 g of 3-cyano-3,5,5-trimethylcyclohexanone. This is equivalent to a yield of 96.2% based on HCN used and 98% based on isophorone converted.

Provenance & Evidence