Patent ID: 8362293

Claim:
A process for producing an isocyanate by subjecting a carbamic acid ester to a decomposition reaction, wherein the decomposition reaction is carried out in the presence of an aromatic hydroxy compound having a substituent at one or more ortho positions relative to a hydroxy group, and the substituent represents a group other than a hydrogen atom, the group being an aliphatic group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, an aliphatic alkoxy group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, an aryl group having 6 to 20 carbon atoms, an aryloxy group having 6 to 20 carbon atoms, an aralkyl group having 7 to 20 carbon atoms or an aralkyloxy group having 7 to 20 carbon atoms, the aliphatic alkyl, the aliphatic alkoxy, the aryl, the aryloxy and the aralkyl groups containing an atom selected from carbon, oxygen and nitrogen atoms; and the carbamic acid ester is an aliphatic carbamic acid ester represented by the following formula (3): (wherein R 3 represents a group selected from the group consisting of an aliphatic group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms and an aromatic group having 6 to 20 carbon atoms, the aliphatic and the aromatic groups containing an atom selected from carbon and oxygen atoms, and the groups having a valence equal to n, R 4 represents an aliphatic group which has 1 to 20 carbon atoms, and which has an atom selected from carbon and oxygen atoms, and n represents an integer of 1 to 10).