Patent ID: 7999131

Claim:
A process in which a compound R 1 COOR 3 (I) is made by a transesterification reaction of an ester compound R 1 COOR 2 (II) with an alcohol R 3 OH (III) in the presence of a transesterification catalyst, wherein R 1 is H or C 1-4 alkyl or CH 2 ═CR 4 —; R 2 is C 1-4 alkyl; R 3 is selected from the group consisting of alkyl having at least 4 carbon atoms, cycloalkyl having at least 5 carbon atoms, aryl, aralkyl, alkaryl and amino alkyl; and R 4 is —H or —C 1-4 alkyl, wherein alcohol R 2 OH (IV) is formed as a byproduct and in which said byproduct (IV) is removed by distillation in the presence of an entrainer, in which the entrainer is a compound that suppresses the formation of an azeotrope between compound (II) and byproduct (IV) and wherein the entrainer is a compound selected from the group consisting of dibenzyl ether, diethylene glycol dibutyl ether, diethylene glycol di-n-butyl ether, triethylene glycol dibutyl ether, diethylene glycol diethyl ether, and tripropylene glycol dimethyl ether.