Process for producing hydroxyalkyl glucosides

Abstract: A process is disclosed for producing particular hydroxyalkyl glucosides in the presence of a binary catalyst.

Description: The present invention relates to a process for producing particular hydroxyalkyl glucosides. The field of surfactants has seen a considerable development during the past years; a large share of world market is constituted by non-ionic surfactants, and in particular, by polyethoxylated alcohols and polyethoxylated alkyl-phenols. Such non-ionic surfactants have gained a considerable importance thanks to their good detergent properties, to the flexibility in the various formulations (compatibility with ionic surfactants) and to their low production cost. Besides these classes of non-ionic surfactants, new classes have been developed recently, which are characterized by hydrophilic moieties different from polyethoxy groups; among these, the esters of mono- and oligosaccharides seem to be particularly attractive, owing to their low cost and intrinsic biodegradability. However, this type of long chain esters, derived, e.g., from palmitic acid, are not satisfactory from the practical viewpoint, owing to the limited stability of the esters group at pH values higher than 8, necessary in a large number of formulations. Such a limited chemical stability was overcome by introducing ether bonds resulting from the reaction of epoxides with a hydroxyethyl glucoside, as disclosed in Italian Patent N. 1,252,613, to the name of Enichem Augusta S.p.A.. The Applicants have made now further steps ahead in an attempt of simplifying the process, with simultaneously obtaining better yields. Therefore, the subject matter of the present invention is a process for producing hydroxyalkyl glucosides of general formula (I): wherein: R is a moiety selected from -CH 2 - or -CH 2 -CH 2 - or -CH 2 -CHOH-; R 1 and R 2 may be alkyl radicals, each of them with 1-18 carbon atoms; R 1 or R 2 may also be hydrogen atoms, but never simultaneously; the total number of carbon atoms of R 1 + R 2 shall anyway be not higher than 18; G is a radical resulting from the removal of a molecule of H 2 O from a monosaccharide, commonly designated as a "reducing sugar", typically an hexose or a pentose of formula C 6 H 12 O 6 or C 5 H 10 O 5 ; n is an integer comprised within the range of from 1 to 5; said process comprising: (a) reacting an epoxide of an olefin, of from 8 to 20 carbon atoms, with a diol or a triol in the presence of a catalyst, with the glycol-ether (II) being obtained the diol being used in an amount which is the same as, or larger than, the stoichiometric amount of epoxide (III) and namely of from 1 to 15 mols per mol of epoxide (III). (b) performing a reaction of glycosidation of the glycol ether (II) with a reducing sugar or a compound which can supply a reducing sugar by hydrolysis, or with a methyl-, ethyl- or butyl-glucoside derived from said reducing sugar; characterized in that the reaction of step (b) is carried out in the presence of a binary catalyst formed by a strong organic acid, selected from the group consisting of alkylbenzenesulfonic acids and secondary and tertiary alkylsulfonic acids, and a weak organic base having a Ka value within the range of from 10 -8 to 10 -1 , selected from the group consisting of pyridine, picolines, lutidines, collidines, quinolines, isoquinoline, quinaldine, pyrazine, pteridine and tetramethylurea. As regards the reducing sugar, types of hexoses or pentoses which may be used are: glucose, mannose, galactose, arabinose, xylose, ribose and the like. Also the higher sugars or substituted saccharides can be used, which can be hydrolyzed in order to yield monosaccharides: among these starch, maltose, saccharose, lactose, maltotriose, methyl-, ethyl- or butyl-glucosides, and so forth, may be reminded here. Owing to its low cost and its large availability, glucose is the preferred monosaccharide. In order to better exemplify the process according to the present invention without limiting it, the following reaction scheme is proposed: Step (a) : Step (b) : in which R, R 1 and R 2 have the same meaning as defined above and R 3 is H, CH 3 , ethyl, butyl. The preparation of (II) [Step (a)] is known; for example, in U.S. Patent No. 3,758,410, the reaction was disclosed of an epoxide with ethylene glycols in the presence of acidic catalysts. The opening of the epoxidic ring can also be accomplished by means of a basic catalysis, for example, when, in the case of alpha-epoxides, exclusively the product deriving from nucleophilic attack to the terminal carbon atom has to be formed, according to as reported in the paper by P.E. Parker and N.S. Isaac, Chem Rev., 1959, 59 , 737. On considering, on the contrary, the Step (b), problems arise as regards the reaction of glycosidation because, usually, undesired reactions take place. For example, U.S. Patent No. 4,950,743 reports that one of such undesired reactions is the formation of polyglucose or of polyhydroxymethyl furfural. The first by-product, if present in the end product, leads to an excessive foaming of surfactant solutions, and the second one is responsible for the appearance of an undesired yellow-brown colours. The formation of polyglucose, as regards the economy of the reaction, also means a loss of yield of desired product. A large number of patents aim at achieving the specific target of preventing polyglucose formation; for example, in WO Patent No. 90/07516, the use of a high-lipophilicity catalyst suitable for overcoming this problem, is disclosed. However, also in this case, although it is decreased relatively to the use of traditional acids, the formation of polyglucose is not completely prevented. Therefore, the primary purpose of the present invention is obtaining a glycosidation product which is free from such by-products as polyglucose, and in this regard the present Applicants have found that the catalytic system used in the Step (b) makes it possible the drawbacks of the prior art, described above, to be overcome. The reaction of glycosidation [Step (b)] is hence carried out in the presence of a binary catalyst consisting of a strong organic acid, selected from the group consisting of alkylbenzenesulfonic acids and secondary and tertiary alkylsulfonic acids, and a weak organic base having a Ka value within the range of from 10 -8 to 10 -1 , selected from the group consisting of pyridine, picolines, lutidines, collidines, quinolines, isoquinoline, quinaldine, pyrazine, pteridine and tetramethylurea. Examples of strong organic acids are: benzene- or alkylbenzene sulfonic acids, naphthalene or alkylnaphthalene sulfonic acids, primary, secondary or tertiary alkyl sulfonic acids, monoalkylsulfates, mono- and dialkylphosphates, alkyl-, aryl- or alkylaryldisulfonic acids, in which all of the aliphatic chains contain from 1 to 20 carbon atoms, and sulfonic groups containing cation exchange resins. The catalyst can be easily prepared separately or in situ by blending equivalent amounts of said acids and bases. Preferred catalysts are the salts of pyridine with alkylbenzene sulfonic acids or secondary alkyl sulfonic acids, with the latter being obtainable for example, according to EP-A-0 402 978 to the name of Enichem Augusta S.p.A., the content of which is therefore incorporated thereto by reference. Among all, preferred is the salt of pyridine with secondary alkyl sulfonic acids containing from 14 to 17 carbon atoms (SASA). The catalyst can be used in amounts comprised within the range of from 0.001 to 0.1 mol per mol of reducing sugar, or of an equivalent thereof as defined hereinabove, and preferably of from 0.001 to 0.05 mol. The unique character of this catalyst is demonstrated by a comparison test as disclosed in Example 8, in which the glycosidation reaction is carried out in the presence of a such conventional acid as p-toluene sulfonic acid. By operating under the same conditions of temperature, pressure, and rate of stirring of the reaction mass as of the test of Example 7, and quenching both said reactions when the stoichiometric amount of water is distilled off, in Example 8 a considerable amount of polyglucose was formed, whilst, on the contrary, when the catalyst of Example 7 was used, glucose resulted to be prevailingly present which could consequently be recovered and used again. The end product results hence to be completely free from polyglucose, that constitutes a typical feature of the present process as compared to the prior art. When such catalysts as disclosed above are used, also the kinetic control of the reaction is easier because, for example, products of formula (I) with a high level of hydroxyalkyl-monoglucosides [e.g., mixtures containing more than 70% of product with n = 1 in formula (I)] are obtained more easily. Furthermore, by using said binary catalysts, at the end of the reaction lighter-coloured products are obtained than the corresponding products obtained with conventional acidic catalysts such as, e.g. p-toluene sulfonic acid. However, if, in order to remove the excess of glycol-ether (II) a distillation is used, which requires temperature of the order of 190-200°C and residual pressures comprised within the range of from 26.66 to 66.65 Pa (0.2 to 0.5 mmHg), brown coloured products are obtained, in particular if the distillation time exceeds 1-2 hours. However, the latter does not constitute a problem because the aqueous solutions of the surfactant can easily be adjusted at a more than acceptable colour by using any of the large number of reactants known from scientific literature, as H 2 O 2 used in U.S. Patent No. 3,450,690, sodium perborate disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 3,839,318, or other equivalent bleaches, such as alkaline hypochlorites, persulfates, and so forth. In the Step (a) of the process according to the present invention, the diol is used in an amount which may be the same as, or larger than, the stoichiometric amount of epoxide (III), and namely, of from 1 to 15 mols per mol of epoxide (III), whilst in the Step (b) the glycol-ether (II) is used in an amount which is the same as, or larger than, the stoichiometric amount of the reducing sugar, as better defined in the following. Furthermore, in the Step (a) of the process the diol also acts as a solvent, i.e. as the liquid media for the reaction mixture; in the Step (b) the solvent function is performed by the glycol-ether (II). As the reactant in the Step (a), mixtures of epoxides having general formula (III) are generally used in which R 1 and R 2 have the same meanings as specified hereinabove; these mixtures are obtained in their turn by reacting corresponding mixtures of linear olefins with hydrogen peroxide, according to such methods as disclosed, for example, in GB Patent No. 2,055,821 and in U.S. Patent No. 4,595,671. In the reaction of glycosidation [Step (b)] the molar ratio of the reducing sugar, or its equivalent as already defined above, to the glycol-ether (II) is comprised within the range of from 1 : 2 to 1 : 10 and preferably of from 1 : 3 to 1 : 6. The selection of the value of such molar ratio makes it possible the characteristics of the end product of formula (I) to be controlled; so, if a product is desired which has a high polymerization degree (n), such low ratios as 1 : 2 will be used; whilst, if a product prevailingly containing hydroxyalkyl-monoglucoside (n = 1) is desired, high values of such a ratio as 1 : 6 will be used. The reaction temperature is comprised within the range of from 90 to 130°C; a preferred range is from 110 to 120°C. During the condensation of the Step (b), R 3 -OH (in which R 3 has the already specified value) is formed, which can be removed with a stream of an inert gas, such as nitrogen, or by distillation if the reaction is carried out under a reduced pressure. In order to obtain large amounts of hydroxyalkyl-monoglucosides [formula (I) with n = 1] the reaction is suitably discontinued when the conversion of carbohydrate is still incomplete. In that case, in order to more easily recover the unreacted carbohydrate, the reaction mass is suitably diluted with a solvent in which said carbohydrate is insoluble, such as hexane or heptane. Such a dilution results also in the advantage that the reaction mixture is made more fluid, therefore more easily separable by carbohydrate filtering. The use of said diluents also causes the partial precipitation of the catalyst which consequently can be (partially) recycled). The filtrate solution is admixed with at least 1 mol of a strong base per each mol of catalyst used. By "strong bases" the alkali metal or alkaline-earth metal hydroxides and alkali-metal alkoxides are meant. Preferred bases are sodium hydroxide and sodium methoxide. From the resulting mixture the dilution solvent is recovered under a low vacuum 4-20 kPa (30-150 mmHg), in the rotary evaporator, an with the kettle temperature being comprised within the range of from 30 to 100°C. Then the unreacted glycol-ether of formula (II) is distilled off under a residual pressure of 13.33-66.65 Pa (0.1-0.5 mmHg) with a kettle temperature of 190-200°C. Such a distillation can be carried out by means of a traditional apparatus or, preferably, with a thin film evaporator. The residue resulting from said distillation is subsequently dissolved in water (e.g., using a same water volume as of said residue, in order to obtain a solution at 50% by weight/weight) and is decolourized according to known methods, as described hereinabove. Lipophilic components still present in the aqueous solution [and generally constituted by the reactant of formula (II) not completely removed during the distillation step and/or by products of degradation thereof] are suitably removed by solvent extraction. Suitable solvents for such a purpose are ethylether and ethyl or propyl acetate. Preferred solvent is ethyl acetate. Example 1 Opening of the internal C 11-12 epoxide with ethylene glycol A mixture of 900 g of internal C 11-12 epoxide (with an epoxide content of 95%) with 3000 g of ethylene glycol is heated at 80°C. 1.25 cc of etherated BF 3 is added, the reaction is stirred for 1 hour and the disappearance of the epoxide is verified by thin-layer chromatography with eluent petroleum ether : ethyl ether = 2 : 1. The reaction mixture is alkalified with 5 g of a solution of NaOH at 50% w/w and is distilled under reduced pressure. After recovering the excess of ethylene glycol, 1022 g of colourless product (I) with a boiling point of 135-160°C/26.66 Pa (0.2 mmHg) is collected. The resulting product has formula (I): in which both of R 1 and R 2 are linear alkyl radicals and different from H and such that R 1 + R 2 = 9-10 carbon atoms. The yield based on epoxide is of 91%. Example 2 Reaction of product (1) with glucose 100 g of glycol ether (1) and 18 g of anhydrous glucose are added to a flask of 250 cc equipped with stirrer, thermometer, distillation head and dipping tube for nitrogen injection. The reaction mixture is heated up to 119-120°C under a nitrogen flow and 0.3 g of pyridinium p-toluenesulfonate (Py.p-TSA) is added. The reaction mixture heating is continued under a nitrogen flow for 6 hours, with water being continuously removed as soon as is formed When the reaction is complete, the reaction mixture is diluted with 100 cc of heptane and is filtered; the precipitate, washed with heptane and dried, has a weight of 2,75 g and results to be prevailingly constituted by glucose. The filtrate solution is admixed with 65 mg of CH 3 ONa and the resulting mixture is distilled; recovered are firstly heptane, in Rotavapor at 2,66 kPa (20 mmHg) and at 50-100°C, and then 82.5 g of glycol-ether (1), at 13.33 Pa (0.1 mmHg), by heating with an oil bath at 190°C. The distillation residue is dissolved in 50 cc of water and then is treated at 20-30°C with a solution of sodium hypochlorite until positive reaction with starch-iodine paper. The solution is extracted with 100 cc of ethyl acetate and, by evaporation uder reduced pressure, the surfactant containing aqueous phase yields 28 g of a solid, glassy and slightly yellow-coloured product. According to an alternative route, the product can be concentrated at 50-60%. An aqueous solution at 50% w/w displays an absorbance at 470 nm of 0.12 (E 470 = 0.24). The product, analysed by HPLC (high-pressure liquid chromatography) and by GC (Gas chromatography), after being preliminarily silanated, results to have the following composition: hydroxyalkyl-monoglucoside = 70-72 % hydroxyalkyl-diglucoside = 16-18 % hydroxyalkyl-triglucoside = 4- 5 % hydroxyalkyl-tetraglucoside = 1,5 % hydroxyalkyl-pentaglucoside = 0,5 % glucose = less than 0,1 % polyglucose = none glycol-ether (1) = less than 1 % Example 3 Opening of the internal C11-12 epoxide with glycerol A mixture of 410 g of glycerol with 105 g of C 11-12 epoxide (containing 95% of epoxide) is heated at 90°C. 0.5 cc of etherated BF 3 is added, then the reaction mixture is stirred for 1 hour. The reaction mixture is cooled, the bottom phase essentially constituted by glycerol is separated, the upper phase is diluted with petroLeum ether and is washed first with a solution at 5% of NaHCO 3 and then with H 2 O, until neutral. By evaporating the solvent, 136.5 g of raw product (2) is obtained as a thick, nearly colourless oil which can be used as such in the subsequent reaction with glucose. According to an alternative route, the product (2) can be purified by distillation under a reduced pressure of 13.33 Pa (0,1 mmHg) and at 170-190°C. The resulting product has the formula (2): in which both of R 1 and R 2 are linear alkyl radicals and different from H and such that R 1 + R 2 = 9-10 carbon atoms. Example 4 Reaction of product (2) with glucose 95 g of the raw triol (2), as obtained from Example 3, and 18 of anhydrous glucose are added to the same reaction equipment as of Example 2. The reaction mixture is heated up to 119-120°C under a nitrogen flow and then 0.3 g of (Py.p-TSA) is added. The reaction mixture heating is continued under an N2 flow for 6 hours, with water being continuously removed as soon as is formed. At the end, the reaction mixture is diluted with 100 cc of heptane and is filtered; the precipitate, washed with heptane and dried, has a weight of 2,4 g and results to be prevailingly constituted by glucose. The filtrate solution is admixed with 65 mg of CH 3 ONa and the resulting mixture is distilled; recovered are firstly heptane, in Rotavapor at 2.66 kPa (20 mmHg) and at 50-100°C, and then 76 g of tryol (2), at 13.33 Pa (0.1 mmHg), by heating with an oil bath at 210°C. The distillation residue, dissolved in 50 cc of water and then treated as in Example 2, yields, after evaporating the aqueous solution, 29 g of a solid, foam-like and slightly yellow product. An aqueous solution at 50% w/w display an absorbance at 470 nm of 0.175 (E 470 = 0.35). Example 5 Hydroxyalkyl-polyglucosides by transacetalation from butyl-glucoside 100 cc of n-butanol, 18 g of anhydrous glucose and 0.3 g of Py.P-TSa are charged to the apparatus of Example 2. The reaction mixture is refluxed with a Marcusson, with water being removed as is formed, until a clear and colourless solution is obtained, which is constituted by a mixture of alpha+beta butyl-glucoside in N-butanol. 100 g of glycol-ether (1) is added and butanol is distilled off under reduced pressure, with the inner temperature of the reaction vessel being kept at 115°C. Four hours later, the disappearance of butyl-glucoside is verified by thin-layer chromatography with eluent chloroform : methanol = 3 : 1. The reaction mixture is diluted with 100 cc of heptane, any insolubles are filtered off and and the resulting solution is alkalified with 65 mg of CH 3 ONa and then is distilled. By operating as in Example 2, 25 g of a solid, glass-like and slightly yellow-coloured product is obtained after decolourizing, extraction and evaporation. An aqueous solution at 50% w/w has an absorbance at 470 nm of 0.1 (E 470 = 0.2). Example 6 500 g of glycol-ether (1) and 90 g of anhydrous glucose are charged to a flask of 1 litre of capacity equipped with stirrer, thermometer and distillation head. The reaction mixture is heated at 119-120°C and then 3 g is added of a pyridine salt with a secondary alkyl sulfonic acid with an average chain length of 15 carbon atoms (briefly referred to as "SASA"). The catalyst was prepared as follows: 25 g of technical SASA, obtained by operating as disclosed in EP-A-0,402,378 to the name of Enichem Augusta S.p.A. and constituted by 68% of secondary alkyl sulfonic acid with average molecular weight MW ave 293, 8% of secondary alkyl disulfonic acid with MW ave 373, 8% of H 2 SO 4 , balance water, is treated with an excess of pyridine. A syrup-like solution is obtained which is thoroughly dehydrated under reduced pressure at 100°C in Rotavapor. The residue is diluted with 100 cc of ethyl ether. The resulting precipitate, constituted by pyridinium sulfate, is filtered off and the ethereal solution is concentrated again to dryness. 23 g is obtained of a slightly yellow paste which is used as such in the glucosidation reaction. As soon as the catalyst is added, the reaction equipment is connected with a vacuum pump and the internal pressure inside the system is reduced down to 3.33 kPa (25 mmHg). Water formed in the reaction is collected inside a trap cooled at -80°C. Heating under reduced pressure is continued for 6 hours, with 8,7 g of water being collected. The reaction mixture is cooled, is diluted with 500 cc of cold hexane and the insoluble matter is filtered off. The precipitate, thoroughly washed with hexane and dried, yields 15.1 of a white, crystalline compound which, on HPLC (high-pressure liquid chromatography) analysis, results to be essentially constituted by glucose and can hence be recycled. The hexanic solution is admixed with 0.4 g of CH 3 0Na and is distilled under reduced pressure, first in Rotavapor at 4-5.33 kPa (30-40 mmHg) and 50-100°C in order to recover hexane, and then under 13.33 Pa (0.1 mmHg) and heating with an oil bath up to 190°C, in order to recover an excess of 423 g of glycol ether (1). The distillation residue (143 g) is dissolved in 200 cc of H 2 O and is decolourized by treatment with H 2 O 2 at 60-70°C, with the pH value of the solution being kept at 8-9 by adding aqueous NaOH at 10% by weight/weight (w/w). The aqueous solution is then extracted twice, each time with 300 cc of ethyl acetate and is subsequently concentrated to dryness. 127 g is obtained of a solid, glass-like, slightly yellow-coloured product which displays a similar composition to the product obtained in example 2. Example 7 To the same apparatus of Example 6, 500 g of glycol ether (1) and 90 g of anhydrous glucose are charged. The reaction mixture is heated at 119-120°C, and 1.5 g of Py.p-TSA are added. As soon as the catalyst is added, the reaction equipment is connected with a vacuum pump and the internal pressure of the system is reduced down to 3.33 kPa (25 mmHg). Water formed in the reaction is collected inside a trap cooled at -80°C. Heating under reduced pressure is continued for 6 hours; 9.0 g of water are collected. Then, by subsequently operating as in Example 6, after dilution with hexane and filtering, 14.5 g of glucose are obtained. From the hexanic phase, by distillation under reduced pressure, dilution with water, decolourization, extraction and drying, 126 g are obtained of a surfactant showing identical characteristics to those as of the product obtained from Example 2. Example 8 Comparison test with p-toluene sulfonic acid The test is carried out as in Example 7, but using, as the catalyst, 1.02 of anhydrous p-toluene sulfonic acid (corresponding, as mol number, to 1.5 g of Py.p-TSA of Example 7). The reaction mixture is heated at 119-120°C and under a pressure of 3.33 kPa (25 mmHg) until the same amount of water as of Example 7 (9.0 g) is obtained. The heating time is of 2 hours and 45 minutes. At heating end, the reaction mixture, to the contrary of what observed in Example 7, appears to be turbid owing to the presence of a solid phase constituted by extremely fine, difficultly settling particles. Also the filtering operation, which in the test of Example 7 takes place within a few minutes, results to be very laborious owing to the effect of the very fine precipitate which tends to clog the fritted filter. The white precipitate, thoroughly washed with hexane and dried, has a weight of 18.2 g and, differently to glucose obtained in Example 7, is not reduced by Fehling's reactant. The HPLC analysis (high pressure liquid chromatography), using a C 18 Hypersil® column and eluting with a gradient of from 100% to 0% of H 2 O= : CH 3 CN and a Light Scattering detector, displays a wide peak corresponding to a retention time of approximately 16 minutes (glucose, under same conditions, has a retention time of about 2,5 minutes). To this compound a polyglucosidic structure can hence be attributed, and therefore it cannot be used again and recycled as, on the contrary, it may be the case with glucose recovered in Example 7. Example 9 Opening of dodecene-alpha-epoxide with ethylene glycol 600 g of ethylene glycol are charged to a flask of 1 litre of capacity equipped with stirrer, thermometer and dipping tube for nitrogen flow. 1.5 g of sodium metal are added portionwise and the reaction mixture is stirred until dissolution is complete. To the resulting solution, 200 cc of dodecene alpha-epoxide (purity 92%) are added and the mixture is heated at 110-120°C for 1 hour, with the disappearance of epoxide being monitored by thin-layer chromatography with eluent petroleum ether : ethyl ether = 2 : 1. The reaction product is distilled under reduced pressure, with the excess of ethylene glycol being recovered first and then the fraction being collected which distils at 160-165°C/26,66 Pa (0.2 mmHg). The latter is constituted by 210 g of product of formula (III), which solidifies at room temperature. Example 10 Reaction of (3) with glucose 100 g of product (3) and 18 g of glucose are charged to the same reaction equipment as of Example 2. The reaction is heated at 120 °C and 0.3 g of Py.p-TSA is added. The reaction equipment is connected with a vacuum pump, and the internal pressure is reduced down to 3.33 kPa (25 mmHg). Heating at same temperature is continued until a homogeneous, clear and slightly yellow coloured solution is obtained (about 45 minutes). The reaction is neutralized with 70 mg of CH 3 ONa and is distilled under reduced pressure. 82.6 g of glycol ether (3) are recovered. The residue, dissolved in 60 cc of water, decolourized and extracted as in Example 2 yields, after evaporating the aqueous solution, 32.1 g of a white solid product.

Claims: Process for producing hydroxyalkyl glucosides of general formula (I): wherein: R is a moiety selected from -CH 2 - or -CH 2 -CH 2 - or -CH 2 -CHOH-; R 1 and R 2 may be alkyl radicals, each of them with 1-18 carbon atoms; R 1 or R 2 may also be hydrogen atoms, but never simultaneously; the total number of carbon atoms of R 1 + R 2 shall anyway be not higher than 18; G is a radical resulting from the removal of a molecule of H 2 O from a monosaccharide, commonly designated as "reducing sugar", typically an hexose or a pentose of formula C 6 H 12 O 6 or C 5 H 10 O 5 ; n is an integer comprised within the range of from 1 to 5; said process comprising: (a) reacting an epoxide of an olefin, of from 8 to 20 carbon atoms, with a diol or a triol in the presence of a catalyst, with the glycol-ether (II) being obtained; the diol being used in an amount which is the same as, or larger than, the stoichiometric amount of epoxide (III) and namely of from 1 to 15 mols per mol of epoxide (III); (b) performing a reaction of glycosidation of the glycol ether (II) with a reducing sugar or a compound which can supply a reducing sugar by hydrolysis, or with a methyl-, ethyl- or butyl-glucoside derived from said reducing sugar; characterized in that the reaction of step (b) is carried out in the presence of a binary catalyst formed by a strong organic acid, selected from the group consisting of alkylbenzenesulfonic acids and secondary and tertiary alkylsulfonic acids, and a weak organic base having a Ka value within the range of from 10 -8 to 10 -1 , selected from the group consisting of pyridine, picolines, lutidines, collidines, quinolines, isoquinoline, quinaldine, pyrazine, pteridine and tetramethylurea. Process according to claim 1, in which the strong organic acid of the binary catalyst used in the Step (b) is selected from: benzene- or alkylbenzene sulfonic acids, naphthalene or alkylnaphthalene sulfonic acids, primary, secondary or tertiary alkyl sulfonic acids, monoalkylsulfates, mono- and dialkylphosphates, alkyl-, aryl- or alkylaryldisulfonic acids, in which all of the aliphatic chains contain from 1 to 20 carbon atoms, and sulfonic groups containing cation exchange resins. Process according to the preceding claims, in which the binary catalysts used in the Step (b) are selected from pyridine salts with alkylbenzene. sulfonic acids or with secondary alkyl sulfonic acids. Process according to the preceding claims, in which the binary catalyst used in the Step (b) is the salt of pyridine with secondary alkyl sulfonic acids containing from 14 to 17 carbon atoms (SASA). Process according to the preceding claims, in which the binary catalyst used in the Step (b) is prepared by mixing equivalent amounts of a strong organic acid and of a weak organic base selected from those as disclosed hereinabove. Process according to the preceding claims, in which the binary catalyst used in the Step (b) is used in amounts comprised within the range of from 0.001 to 0.1 mole per mole of reducing sugar, or of an equivalent thereof. Process according to claim 6, in which the binary catalyst used in the Step (b) is used in amounts comprised within the range of from 0.01 to 0.05 mole per mole of reducing sugar, or of an equivalent thereof. Process according to claim 1, in which in the Step (b) the molar ratio of the reducing sugar, or its equivalent, to the glycol-ether (II) is comprised within the range of from 1 : 2 to 1 : 10. Process according to claim 8, in which in the Step (b) the molar ratio of the reducing sugar, or its equivalent, to the glycol-ether (II) is comprised within the range of from 1 : 3 to 1 : 6. Process according to claim 1, in which in the Step (b) the reaction solvent used is the glycol-ether (II). Process according to claim 1, in which in the Step (b) the reaction temperature used is comprised within the range of from 90 to 130°C. Process according to claim 11, in which in the Step (b) the reaction temperature used is comprised within the range of from 110 to 120°C.

Inventors: AGNES GIOVANNI, BORSOTTI GIAMPIETRO, CIALI MASSIMO, PELLIZZON TULLIO, AGNES, GIOVANNI, BORSOTTI, GIAMPIETRO, CIALI, MASSIMO, PELLIZZON, TULLIO
Applicants: CONDEA AUGUSTA SPA, CONDEA AUGUSTA S.P.A.
Application year: 1993
Main classification: C07H15
IPC codes: C07H15, B01J31, C07B61