A process of producing methacrylic acid and/or derivatives thereof including the following steps: (a) biologically converting isobutyryl-CoA into methacrylyl-CoA by the action of an oxidase; and (b) converting methacrylyl-CoA into methacrylic acid and/or derivatives thereof. The invention also extends to microorganisms adapted to conduct the steps of the process.

The present invention relates to a cyclopropenium salt bearing an electron withdrawing group suitable for use as a reagent in cyclopropenylation reactions of formula (I). The invention also relates to a process for their preparation, the use thereof as cyclopropenylation reagent, to an electrophilic aromatic substitution process of cyclopropenylation, and to a process for cyclopropenylation of organometallic substrates using said reagents.

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The present invention relates to a cyclopropenium salt bearing an electron withdrawing group suitable for use as a reagent in cyclopropenylation reactions of formula (I). The invention also relates to a process for their preparation, the use thereof as cyclopropenylation reagent, to an electrophilic aromatic substitution process of cyclopropenylation, and to a process for cyclopropenylation of organometallic substrates using said reagents.

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The present invention relates to a transition metal complex having a PNNP4 ligand, which is easy to manufacture and handle and is relatively inexpensively available, and a method for manufacturing the same, as well as a method using this transition metal complex as a catalyst for hydrogenation reduction of ketones, esters and amides to manufacture corresponding alcohols, aldehydes, hemiacetals and hemiaminals, a method using this transition metal complex as a catalyst for oxidation of alcohols, hemiacetals and hemiaminals to manufacture corresponding carbonyl compounds, and a method using this transition metal complex as a catalyst for dehydrogenation condensation between alcohols and amines to manufacture alkylamines.

The present invention relates to a transition metal complex having a PNNP4 ligand, which is easy to manufacture and handle and is relatively inexpensively available, and a method for manufacturing the same, as well as a method using this transition metal complex as a catalyst for hydrogenation reduction of ketones, esters and amides to manufacture corresponding alcohols, aldehydes, hemiacetals and hemiaminals, a method using this transition metal complex as a catalyst for oxidation of alcohols, hemiacetals and hemiaminals to manufacture corresponding carbonyl compounds, and a method using this transition metal complex as a catalyst for dehydrogenation condensation between alcohols and amines to manufacture alkylamines.

A process is provided for the preparation of value added chemicals such as ethyl levulinate from a glucose or other sugars, catalyzed by a mixture of a Lewis acid catalyst and a Bronsted acid catalyst.

A process is provided for the preparation of value added chemicals such as ethyl levulinate from a glucose or other sugars, catalyzed by a mixture of a Lewis acid catalyst and a Bronsted acid catalyst.

A process is provided for the preparation of value added chemicals such as ethyl levulinate from a glucose or other sugars, catalyzed by a mixture of a Lewis acid catalyst and a Bronsted acid catalyst.

The present invention provides a process for preparing 2-isopropenyl-5-methyl-4-hexenoic acid of the following formula (4), comprising steps of: subjecting a Grignard reagent of the following general formula (1), wherein R.sup.1 represents a linear, branched, or aromatic monovalent hydrocarbon group having 1 to 8 carbon atoms, and X represents a chlorine atom, a bromine atom, or an iodine atom, and 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyldisilazane to a deprotonation reaction to form a 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyldisilazane derivative; and subjecting 2-methyl-3-buten-2-yl 3-methyl-2-butenoate of the following formula (3) to a rearrangement reaction in the presence of the 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyldisilazane derivative to form 2-isopropenyl-5-methyl-4-hexenoic acid (4). ##STR00001##

The present invention provides a process for preparing 2-isopropenyl-5-methyl-4-hexenoic acid of the following formula (4), comprising steps of: subjecting a Grignard reagent of the following general formula (1), wherein R.sup.1 represents a linear, branched, or aromatic monovalent hydrocarbon group having 1 to 8 carbon atoms, and X represents a chlorine atom, a bromine atom, or an iodine atom, and 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyldisilazane to a deprotonation reaction to form a 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyldisilazane derivative; and subjecting 2-methyl-3-buten-2-yl 3-methyl-2-butenoate of the following formula (3) to a rearrangement reaction in the presence of the 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyldisilazane derivative to form 2-isopropenyl-5-methyl-4-hexenoic acid (4). ##STR00001##