Patent ID: 7232877

Claim:
An improved method of synthesizing a cyclocarbonate from an epoxy compound and carbon dioxide at low pressure and temperature in a reactor, the method comprising the steps of: a) supplying a catalyst to the reactor; b) introducing the epoxy compound to the catalyst-containing reactor to create a reactionary mass in the reactor; and c) feeding carbon dioxide to the reactor i) via a first gas inlet into the head space above the reactionary mass, and, substantially simultaneously, ii) directly into the reactionary mass through a turbine mixing device comprising a shaft with a hollow interior associated with a gas entrainment impeller directly into the reactionary mass, said shaft having a second gas inlet in fluid communication with the head space and said impeller being in fluid communication with the shaft interior and being positioned within the reactionary mass, said impeller further having peripherally disposed gas dispersion ports suitable for introducing gas into the reactionary mass, whereby iii) upon rotation of the shaft and the associated impeller carbon dioxide is drawn into the shaft interior from the head space via the second inlet and is introduced via the dispersion ports into the reactionary mass, the reactionary mass being saturated with the carbon dioxide and reacting to form the cyclocarbonate, said reaction taking place in the absence of reactant solvents and substantially without generation of foam.