Caprolactam → 6-Aminohexanoic Acid

Participants

Reaction Steps

The removal of water takes place in the presence of a total of less than 20 mmol of sodium hydroxide, in aqueous solution, per kg of caprolactam. The aqueous sodium hydroxide solution for this is added to the caprolactam prior to the evaporators. The aqueous sodium hydroxide solution is to react with caprolactam to give the Na-salt of 6-aminocaproic acid. This salt, according to DD-A-202870, has the same purification effect as sodium hydroxide, but, in contrast to sodium hydroxide, does not cause any caprolactam oligomerization.

Provenance & Evidence