It is disclosed that citric acid or its salts are obtained by the hydrolysis of an alkaline earth metal adduct obtained by reacting a 3-carbamoyl-3-hydroxy-4-halobutyric acid with cyanide ions and with alkaline earth metal hydroxide, preferably in the ratio of from about one to about two gram-atoms of calcium and one gram-mol of cyanide (CN).sup.- per gram-mol of 3-carbamoyl-3-hydroxy-4-halobutyric acid, that 3-carbamoyl-3-hydroxy-4-halobutyric acid is preferably obtained by hydrolysis of a 3-cyano-3-hydroxy-4-halobutyric acid in an acidic system (in the presence of cyanide ions), that 3-cyano-3-hydroxy-4-halobutyric acid is preferably obtained by the hydrocyanation of 3-oxo-4-halobutyric acid with HCN in an aqueous system in the presence of excess cyanide ions and preferably in the presence of alkaline earth metal cyanide or alkali metal cyanide, that 3-oxo-4-halobutyric acid is obtained by hydrolysis of a 3-oxo-4-halobutyryl halide produced from diketene by halogenation. Preferred halogens involved in the process are chlorine and, to a lesser extent, bromine. Preferred alkaline earth metal adducts of the present invention are compounds of calcium. A preferred ratio of gram-atoms of calcium to gram-mols of 3-carbamoyl-3-hydroxy-4-chlorobutyric acid is about 2:1.
本文披露了
柠檬酸或其盐是通过将3-
氨基甲酰基-3-羟基-4-卤
丁酸与
氰离子和碱土
金属氢氧化物反应获得的碱土
金属加合物的
水解得到的,最好的反应比例是每克摩尔的3-
氨基甲酰基-3-羟基-4-卤
丁酸中添加约1至2克原子的
钙和1克摩尔的
氰离子(CN)。优选的3-
氨基甲酰基-3-羟基-4-卤
丁酸是在酸性体系中(存在
氰离子的情况下)通过3-
氰基-3-羟基-4-卤
丁酸的
水解获得的,优选的3-
氰基-3-羟基-4-卤
丁酸是通过在
水性体系中在过量
氰离子和优选的碱土
金属
氰化物或碱
金属
氰化物的存在下,将3-氧代-4-卤
丁酸与HCN进行
氰化反应获得的,3-氧代-4-卤
丁酸是通过将二酮通过卤代反应获得的。本方法中优选的卤素是
氯,其次是
溴。优选的碱土
金属加合物是
钙化合物。优选的
钙原子数与3-
氨基甲酰基-3-羟基-4-
氯丁酸的摩尔数比为2:1。