Abstract: There is disclosed a process for producing allyl 2-hydroxyisobutyrate useful as a raw material for agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals, which comprises reacting methyl 2-hydroxyisobutyrate with allyl alcohol preferably by means of reactional distillation in the presence of a transesterification catalyst preferably comprising titanium tetramethoxide or titanium tetraisopropoxide under solventless mild reaction conditions including a reaction temperature in the range of 80 to 150.degree. C. and a reaction time in the range of 10 minutes to 12 hours. The process enables efficient and easy production of the objective allyl 2-hydroxxyisobutyrate in high yield and high efficiency without the need of troublesome operations.

Abstract: A process for preparing lactamide with a high conversion and a high selectivity without the deterioration of a catalytic activity in a short time, which comprises subjecting lactonitrile to a hydrating reaction in the presence of (A) a catalyst including an oxide of manganese as a main component, (B) an oxidizing agent and (C) hydrogen cyanide or hydrogen cyanide and a compound represented by the formula ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1, R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 are each a hydrogen atom, a C.sub.1 to C.sub.8 alkyl group, a C.sub.1 to C.sub.8 hyroxyalkyl group, a C.sub.1 to C.sub.8 aminoalkyl group or a C.sub.1 to C.sub.8 halogenoalkyl group.

Abstract: There is disclosed a process for producing 3-methyl-tetrahydrofuran which comprises the step 1 of subjecting the compound represented by the general formula [I]ROOC--CH(CH.sub.3)--CH.sub.2 --CHO [I]wherein R is an alkyl group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms and the formyl group may be present as an acetal having an alkanol with 1 to 8 carbon atoms, to hydrogenation and alcohol-eliminating cyclization to synthesize 2-methyl-.gamma.-butyrolactone; the step 2 of separating the 2-methyl-.gamma.-butyrolactone formed in the step 1 from alcohols by means of distillation, etc.; and the step 3 of hydrogenating the 2-methyl-.gamma.-butyrolactone which is formed in the step 2. The above process enables the production of the objective highly-pure 3-methyltetrahydrofuran substantially free from an alcohol in high efficiency and high conversion through simplified production steps.

Abstract: There is disclosed a process for producing 3-methyltetrahydrofuran substantially free from any of an alcohol and water which comprises adding an organic solvent capable of forming an azeotropic mixture with an alcohol with an alkyl group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms to a mixed liquid containing 3-methyltetrahydrofuran, the alcohol and/or water as the principal components and, as the case may be, another substance, and distilling the resultant mixture of the mixed liquid and said organic solvent. According to the above process, it is made possible to efficiently separate a mixture of 3-methyltetrahydrofuran and an alcohol and/or water which mixture is difficult to separate with conventional distillation process alone, thereby efficiently producing the objective 3-methyltetrahydrofuran substantially free from any of an alcohol and water.

Abstract: A process for preparing a lactate which includes: (a) preparing lactonitrile from prussic acid and acetaldehyde, (b) hydrating the lactonitrile to form lactamide, (c) forming the desired lactate and formamide from lactamide and formate (or methanol and carbon monoxide), (d) separating and collecting components, having a lower boiling point than that of lactate from the reaction liquid in step (c), by distillation under specified conditions, and (e) dehydrating formamide from step (d) to form prussic acid and recycling the prussic acid to step (a). Heretofore, lactates had been manufactured by forming lactonitrile (cyanohydrin) from acetaldehyde and prussic acid, and then esterifying lactonitrile with a mineral acid or the like. However, in this conventional process, ammonium salts were formed as by-products in an amount equal to that of the lactate.

Abstract: There is herein disclosed a process for preparing a lactamide by hydrating lactonitrile in the presence of a catalyst mainly comprising a manganese oxide, and a nitrogen-containing compound such as ammonia or diethylamine. According to this process, the lactamide can be obtained from lactonitrile in a high yield, while the high activity of the catalyst is maintained for a long period of time.

Abstract: A process for preparing a carboxylic acid ester which includes subjecting a carboxylic acid and an alcohol or a phenol to an esterification reaction in the presence of a silica-titania catalyst. The silica-titania catalyst is prepared by adding an acidic solution containing a silicon compound and a titanium compound dissolved therein to a solution of a basic compound to bring about co-precipitation, in which the acidic solution is a nitric acid-acidic solution or a sulfuric acid-acidic solution, a ratio of the amount (gram equivalent) of nitric acid or sulfuric acid to the amount (mol) of the silicon compound in the acidic solution is 0.5 to 50 and the amount of the titanium compound in the acidic solution is such that a ratio of titania (TiO.sub.2) in the silica-titania catalyst is 1 to 50% by weight.

Abstract: A process for preparing 3-methyltetrahydrofuran is herein disclosed which comprises reacting a methacrylic acid ester with carbon monoxide and a lower aliphatic alcohol to obtain a methylsuccinic acid diester, and hydrogenating and dehydrating/cyclizing this methylsuccinic acid diester. According to this process, 3-methyltetrahydrofuran can efficiently be obtained from inexpensive starting materials.

Abstract: A remote control apparatus for recording/playback equipment capable of remotely controlling complicated recording playback equipment while placing little burden on the control side. Schedule data is transmitted from an uplink system 100 to a downlink system 200 via a communications satellite. The schedule data includes operation data for recording and playback operations and their related operations, start data which displays at least the operation start time, and position data which indicates the recording/playback position on the recording medium. The received schedule data is stored in a non-volatile RAM in the control area of the VCR 203. The VCR then uses this schedule data as a basis for automatically carrying out recording or playback operations and their related operations.

Abstract: A process for producing 3-methyltetrahydrofuran, wherein in a first step, prussic acid is reacted with methyl methacrylate to produce methyl 3-cyanoisobutyrate. The methyl 3-cyanoisobutyrate is then reacted with water and sulfuric acid to produce a resultant product which is reacted with a C.sub.1 -C.sub.8 aliphatic alcohol to produce a methylsuccinic acid ester. The methylsuccinic acid ester is catalytically hydrogenated to prepare the 3-methyltetrahydrofuran. Alternatively, the methyl 3-cyanoisobutyrate is hydrated to produce methyl 3-carbamoylisobutyrate, which is then reacted with a formic acid ester to form a methylsuccinic acid ester and formamide and the resultant methylsuccinic acid ester is catalytically hydrogenated. The 3-methyltetrahydrofuran is produced in high selectivity and in a commercially advantageous manner from inexpensive reactants. The 3-methyltetrahydrofuran is useful as a commoner for producing polyether glycol, which is utilized as starting raw material for preparing spandex fiber.

Abstract: A process for preparing a silica-titania catalyst by adding an acidic solution containing a silicon compound such as sodium silicate and a titanium compound such as titanium sulfate dissolved therein to a solution of a compound such as ammonium bicarbonate to bring about co-precipitation, in which the acidic solution is a highly concentrated nitric acid-acidic or sulfuric acid-acidic solution, and a ratio of the dissolved titanium compound in the acidic solution is regulated in a certain range.According to this process, a catalyst capable of exerting a high performance in an esterification reaction and the like can be efficiently obtained.

Abstract: A process for purifying a methacrylate which comprises contacting the methacrylate with an oximating agent, such as hydroxylamine hydrochloride or an aqueous alkali solution, such as an aqueous sodium hydroxide solution, or both, and then separating and collecting the resultant purified methacrylate. The process serves to remove compounds which discolor the methacrylate, to obtain a high-quality methacrylate.

Abstract: There is disclosed a process for efficiently producing hydrogen cyanide at a reaction temperature of preferably 250.degree. to 550.degree. C. by a catalytic dehydrative reaction of formamide which comprises employing as a catalyst, a manganese oxide (MnO) and/or a magnesium oxide (MgO) each modified with an alkali metal (Na, K, Rb, Cs, etc. ). The above process is capable of producing hydrogen cyanide at an enhanced conversion efficiency of formamide and at a high selectivity while minimizing the by-production of ammonia. The use of the catalyst comprising as a principal component, MnO modified with an alkali metal is particularly effective in prolonging its service life and enables a long-term stable operation.

Abstract: There is disclosed a process for efficiently producing methyl .alpha.-hydroxyisobutyrate from .alpha.-hydroxyisobutyramide and methyl formate by means of reaction distillation which comprises feeding .alpha.-hydroxyisobutyramide and an alkali metal hydroxide in a continuous distillation column to prepare therein the dehydrated condensate of .alpha.-hydroxyisobutyramide with the alkali metal hydroxide as the catalyst and reacting remaining .alpha.-hydroxyisobutyramide with methyl formate in the presence of the dehydrated condensate as the catalyst.According to the above process, the objective methyl .alpha.-hydroxyisobutyrate is continuously obtained in high yield and high selectivity without any operational trouble.

Abstract: There is disclosed a process for producing methyl methacrylate through gas-phase catalytic reaction of methyl .alpha.-hydroxyisobutyrate which comprises feeding methanol in an amount by weight of 0.1 to 3.0 times the methyl .alpha.-hydroxyisobutyrate in a reactor along therewith and proceeding with the reaction at a reaction temperature in the range of 230.degree. to 300.degree. C. by the use of a transition-type synthetic faujasite zeolite having a specific lattice constant and a specific Na content (Na/Al) as the catalyst. The process is capable of stably producing the objective product having excellent quality in high yield for a long period of time while preventing the problems of early deterioration of the catalyst and coloring of reaction product.

Abstract: There is disclosed a process for efficiently producing a carboxylic acid ester and formamide by reacting a carboxylic acid amide with a formic acid ester or with an alcohol and carbon monoxide in the presence of a strongly basic anion-exchange resin. By the use of the strongly basic anion-exchange resin as the catalyst, the process of the present invention enables the efficient production of the carboxylic acid ester as well as formamide from the Carboxylic acid amide and Formic acid ester, etc. with a high selectivity under mild reaction conditions and facilitates the separation of the catalyst from the reaction product, thereby greatly enhancing the industrial significance of itself.

Abstract: A process for preparing an .alpha., .beta.-unsaturated carboxylic acid and/or an .alpha., .beta.-unsaturated carboxylic acid ester from at least one ester selected from .alpha.-hydroxycarboxylic acid ester, .alpha.-alkoxycarboxylic acid ester and .beta.-alkoxycarboxylic acid ester as a starting material by a vapor-phase catalytic reaction in the presence of a crystalline aluminosilicate as a catalyst.According to the process, .alpha., .beta.-unstaturated carboxylic acid and/or an ester thereof can be produced in a mild condition and a high yield.

Abstract: A process for producing methacrylic acid which comprises: (I) producing acetonecyanohydrin from prussic acid and acetone; (II) hydrating the acetonecyanohydrin obtained in step (I) to form .alpha.-hydroxyisobutyric acid amide; (III) reacting the .alpha.-hydroxyisobutyric acid amide obtained in step (II) with methyl formate or with methanol and carbon monoxide to form methyl .alpha.-hydroxyisobutyrate and formamide; (IV) hydrolyzing the methyl .alpha.-hydroxyisobutyrate obtained in step (III) to form .alpha.-hydroxyisobutyric acid; (V) dehydrating the .alpha.-hydroxyisobutyric acid obtained in step (IV) to form methacrylic acid; and (VI) dehydrating the formamide separated from the products obtained in step (III) to form prussic acid and recycling the prussic acid to step (I) as a starting material. The process is capable of producing methacrylic acid from readily available starting materials with a high yield and selectivity, without forming undesirable by-product or waste materials, such as ammonium sulfate.

Abstract: A process for producing .alpha., .beta.-unsaturated carboxylic acid ester which comprises catalytically reacting .alpha.-hydroxycarboxylic acid ester with crystalline aluminosilicate catalyst, and then catalytic reacting the resulting reaction product with solid acid catalyst.According to the process, .alpha., .beta.-unsaturated carboxylic acid ester of a high purity, and a high quality, without by-product, can be produced efficiently.

Abstract: A process for producing an .alpha.-hydroxyisobutyric acid which comprises hydrolyzing .alpha.-hydroxyisobutyric acid ester in the presence of an organic sulfonic acid catalyst, using an .alpha.-hydroxyisobutyric acid ester as the starting material.According to said process, .alpha.-hydroxyisobutyric acid can be efficiently produced.