Patent ID: 7956217

Claim:
A method for hydrolyzing nitrilotriacetonitrile comprising: adding an amount of nitrilotriacetonitrile (NTAN) to a solution including an acid catalyst in a single or bulk addition with agitation to form a reaction mixture, hydrolyzing the NTAN in the reaction mixture with agitation for a period of time no more than about 1 hour with no external heating, after hydrolyzing, adjusting a pH of the reaction mixture to a pH of at least 8 to form a crude hydrolyzed NTAN composition, contacting the crude hydrolyzed NTAN composition with an effective amount of an oxidizing agent for a time and at a temperature sufficient to minimize a concentration of free cyanide in the crude hydrolyzed NTAN composition to a desired low level to form a minimized cyanide hydrolyzed NTAN composition having the desired low free cyanide level, where the method produces a reproducible low free cyanide hydrolyzed NTAN composition.