Patent ID: 7812173

Claim:
A process to produce a tetrahydro-1,8-dioxa-4a- aza-naphthalene of the structure: wherein each R and R 1 is independently H, C1-C20 alkyl, C6-C20 aromatic, alkylaromatic or aromatic/alkyl, said process comprising: reacting a 3-(3-hydroxypropylamino)-propan-1-ol having the structure wherein each R is defined as above; with one or more orthoesters of the formula (R 2 O) 3 C—R 1 , in the presence of acid catalyst, optionally in the presence of a solvent; collecting any alcohol; and neutralizing by addition of an amine to form tetrahydro-1,8-dioxa-4a-aza-naphthalene.