United States Patent [191 [11] Patent Number: 5,399,736 Friederichs Et Al
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
USOO5399736A United States Patent [191 [11] Patent Number: 5,399,736 Friederichs et al. [45] Date of Patent: Mar. 21, 1995 [54] PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION OF 4,369,141 1/1983 Motier ......................... 260/453P HIGHLY PURE AROMATIC DIURETHANES 4,375,000 2/1983 Merger et a1. .............. .. 560/25 AND/ OR POLYURETHANES 4,388,238 6/1983 Heitk'a'mper et a1. .. 260/239 E 4,388,246 6/ 1983 Sundermann et al. 260/453 P [75] Inventors: Wolfgang Friederichs, Cologne; 4,482,499 11/1984 Merger et a1. 260/453 P Stefan Penninger, Pulheim; Stefan 4,611,079 9/1986 Merger . .. 560/25 Wershofen, Moenchengladbach, all 4,692,550 9/1987 Engbert et a1. ................... .. 560/345 of Germany FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS [73] Assignee: Bayer Aktiengesellschaft, 1458595 12/1976 United Kingdom . Leverkusen, Germany Primary Examiner-José G. Dees [21] Appl. No.: 988,659 Assistant Examiner-Samuel Barts [22] Filed: Dec. 10, 1992 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Joseph C. Gil; N. Denise Brown [30] Foreign Application Priority Data [57] ABSTRACT Dec. 16, 1991 [DE] Germany ................... .. 41 41 402.0 This invention relates to a process for the preparation of [51] Int. Cl.6 ........... ..-. ............................ .. C07C 125/06 highly pure aromatic diurethanes and/or polyurethanes [52] US. Cl. ..................................... .. 560/25; 560/158 by reaction of the corresponding aromatic diamines [58] Field of Search ................................ .. 560/25, 158 and/or polyamines with unsubstituted carbamates with [56] References Cited the release of ammonia. The reaction is carried out in U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS the presence of excess carbamates. The resultant reac tion mixture is freed from any solvents used, and the 2,181,663 11/1939 Martin ................................... .. 260/2 formed aromatic diurethanes and/ or polyurethanes are 3,919,278 11/1975 Rosenthal et a1. ........ .. 260/453 P 4,081,472 3/1978 Tsumura et al. .......... .. 260/453 P puri?ed by extraction with water. 4,278,805 7/1981 Merger et a1. .............. .. 560/25 4,290,970 9/1981 Merger . .. 260/453 P 17 Claims, No Drawings 5,399,736 1 2 of the volume/ time yield, and a considerable increase in PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION OF HIGHLY costs in the distillative recovery of the solvent. PURE AROMATIC DIURETHANES AND/OR Aromatic diurethanes and/or polyurethanes are iso POLYURETHANES lated, e.g. according to the teaching of DE 2,917,568 and EP 18,583, from the crude mixtures obtained from BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION the reaction of aromatic diamines and/or polyamines The present invention relates to a process for the with carbamates. In this process, any catalysts used are preparation of highly pure aromatic diurethanes and/ or removed and any solid products obtained are ?ltered polyurethanes by the reaction of aromatic diamines off. The alcohol and/or the solvent and the carbamate and/or polyamines with unsubstituted carbamates with which is optionally used in excess, are completely or the release of ammonia. partly distilled off, and the product is obtained by crys The preparation of aromatic diurethanes and/or tallization, precipitation, or recrystallization from other polyurethanes from aromatic diamines and/or poly solvents. Thus according to EP 18,583 (Example 36) amines and unsubstituted carbamates is of great interest 2,4-bis-(ethoxycarbonylamino)-toluene is purified by as aromatic diurethanes and/or polyurethanes can be distilling off the alcohol used as solvent and excess ethyl converted by thermal decomposition into aromatic di carbamate at a reduced pressure of 10 mbar, and dis isocyanates and/or polyisocyanates which may be used solving the residue in methylene chloride, and washing as starting materials for the production of high quality it several times with water. Methylene chloride is then polyurethane resins. Since the unsubstituted carbamates separated off, ethanol is added and the mixture is cooled used as reactants for the preparation of the aromatic 20 in a mixture of ice and salt. 2,4-Bis-(ethoxycar diurethanes and/0r polyurethanes are obtainable from bonylamino)-toluene then crystallizes with a melting urea and alcohols, they enable aromatic diisocyanates point of 108° to 110° C. However, the 2,4-bis-(ethox and/or polyisocyanates to be produced without the use ycarbonylamino)-toluene is unsuitable for the decompo of phosgene. sition of urethanes due to its insufficient purity. Analyti Processes for the preparation of aromatic diurethanes 25 cally pure 2,4-bis-(ethoxycarbonylamino)-toluene has a and/or polyurethanes from aromatic diamines and/or melting point of 134° C. polyamines and unsubstituted carbamates are known It was therefore an object of the present invention to and are described in numerous patents (DE 2,942,511, provide a process for the preparation of highly pure DE 2,917,568, DE 2,943,480, EP 18,583). The processes aromatic diurethanes and/or polyurethanes suitable for hitherto employed have the disadvantage that the diure the preparation of aromatic diisocyanates and/ or poly thanes and/or polyurethanes are not obtained in pure form. A high purity is necessary for the successful de isocyanates by the thermal decomposition of urethanes. composition of urethanes, and hence for the optimum It was found that in order to obtain highly pure aro preparation of aromatic diisocyanates and/or polyiso matic diurethanes and/or polyurethanes, the reaction cyanates. The products produced by the known pro known in the art of aromatic diamines and/or poly cesses generally contain starting materials and/or by amines with unsubstituted carbamates with the libera products which are inevitably produced, e.g. aminoure tion of ammonia should be carried out with an excess of thanes, urea urethanes, oligoureas and polyureas. These carbamates, any solvent used being separated off after impurities can only be separated with great di?iculty completion of the reaction, and the product mixture from the products of the process, and therefore, in 40 obtained as residue being extracted with water. ' crease the cost of preparation. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION One exception are the aromatic diurethanes based on methanol obtained from the reaction of aromatic di The present invention relates to a process for the amines and methyl carbamate. In general, these ure preparation of highly pure aromatic di- and/ or polyure thanes have a high melting point, good crystallization 45 thanes by reaction of the corresponding aromatic di properties, and low solubility in organic solvents. and/ or polyamines with unsubstituted carbamates with Therefore, in contrast to aromatic diurethanes based on liberation of ammonia, characterized in that the reaction other alcohols, they separate as pure crystalline solids is carried out in the presence of excess carbamate. The from the reaction mixture or can be separated relatively resultant reaction mixture is freed from any solvents easily by recrystallization from the unwanted impurities 50 used, and the aromatic di- and/or polyurethanes ob which interfere with the decomposition of urethanes. tained therefrom are freed from by-products, excess The high melting point and low solubility of the diure carbamate and unreacted di- and/or polyamines by thanes based on methanol have, however, a disadvanta extraction with water. geous e?ect on the use of the end products for the prep The quantity of carbamate used is preferably from aration of isocyanates. Conversion of the products of 55 about 2 to 50 mol, more preferably from about 10 to 30 the process into isocyanates is carried out by the ther mol, of carbamate per mol of amino group in the aro mal decomposition of the underlying urethanes. This matic di- and/or polyamines. decomposition is carried out technically at tempera Ethyl carbamate, propyl carbamate, isopropyl carba tures above 200° C., in a decomposition apparatus into mate, and mixtures thereof are preferred carbamates. In which the urethanes are continuously introduced in the one particular embodiment, unpuri?ed carbamate ob molten or dissolved state (see e.g. US. Pat. No. tained from the reaction of urea with the corresponding 4,388,246, US. Pat. No. 4,081,472, DE 2,421,503, DE alcohols is used as the carbamate. 2,526,193, DE 3,142,627, DE 3,108,990, and DE The reaction of the aromatic di- and/or polyamines 3,215,591). This method, however, cannot be carried with unsubstituted carbamates is preferably carried out out with diurethanes based on methanol without serious 65 with carbamates prepared in situ, using urea and the disadvantages since their high melting point is above corresponding alcohol for the reaction. the decomposition point, and the low solubility necessi Any solvents used for the reaction are preferably tates high degrees of dilution. This results in impairment removed by distillation. 5,399,736 3 4 In a preferred embodiment of the process, any sol The process according to the invention is suitable for vent present in the reaction mixture obtained is, option the preparation of highly pure aromatic di- and/ or poly ally, removed and the reaction mixture obtained is ex urethanes. These aromatic di- and/or polyurethanes tracted by mixing it intensively with water. The ratio of correspond to the following general formula: mixture to water is from about 0.2:1 to 10:1, preferably 5 from about 0.8:1 to 2:1, at temperatures of from about 20° to 200° C., preferably from about 50° to 100° C., cooling to temperatures of from about 0° to 100° C., wherein preferably from about 20° to 70° C., and then separating R1 represents an optionally substituted aromatic hy off the di- and/or polyurethanes which are obtained as drocarbon group having 5 to 18 carbon atoms, or a liquid or solid phase. optionally substituted diphenylmethane, and/or The aromatic di- and/or polyurethanes obtained after optionally substituted polymeric diphenylmethane extraction are preferably dried and/or recrystallized linked with methylene groups; from organic solvents.