Patent ID: 8791302

Claim:
A process for preparing an N,N-dialkylethanolamine of the formula I having high color stability wherein R 1 and R 2 are each independently a C 1 - to C 8 -alkyl group, comprising: reacting ethylene oxide (EO) with a corresponding dialkylamine (R 1 R 2 NH) in the presence of water, wherein the reaction is effected continuously in a reactor, the reaction temperature is in the range of from 90 to 180° C. and the residence time (RT) in the reactor is in the range of from 1 to 7 min, and treating the reactor output thermally at a temperature in the range of from 80 to 160° C. over a period in the range of from 20 to 1000 min, and removing the N,N-dialkylethanolamine from the reactor output by distillation.