Preparation method of a formamide compound

Abstract

The present application provides a preparation method of a formamide compound, the preparation process includes: uniformly mixing raw material of methanoic acid and an amine compound selected from a primary amine or a secondary amine to prepare a homogeneous reaction system; the above homogeneous reaction system is heated to 160-230 C., allowing carbon monoxide to be decomposed from the homogeneous reaction system and participates in the reaction, and collecting the reaction product to obtain a formamide compound. The present application provides a new technology using a homogeneous method to synthesize a formamide compound, the reaction process needs no use of a catalyst, the operation process is simple and controllable, and the raw material of the amine compound has a high selectivity.

Claims

1. A preparation method of formamide compound, consisting of steps of: mixing raw materials of methanoic acid and an amine compound selected from a primary amine or a secondary amine to prepare a homogeneous reaction system; heating the homogeneous reaction system in a high-pressure reactor to 160 C. or higher, keeping temperature for a period of time, then continuing to heat the homogeneous reaction system to react until a pressure in the high-pressure reactor rises to 1.0-3.0 MPa and no higher, keeping reaction for 1-5 hours, and collecting reaction product to obtain the formamide compound.

2. The preparation method according to claim 1, wherein the homogeneous reaction system contains a solvent, which is water or a solvent miscible with water, or a solvent immiscible with water but miscible with the generated formamide compound.

3. The preparation method according to claim 2, wherein the solvent is water formed during preparing the homogeneous reaction system from methanoic acid and the amine compound, and/or water added during preparing the homogeneous reaction system from methanoic acid and the amine compound, and/or an organic solvent selected from one or more of dioxane, tetrahydrofuran, methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, dimethylformamide, toluene and xylene.

4. The preparation method according to claim 1, wherein, when preparing the homogeneous reaction system, molar ratio of methanoic acid to the primary amine compound or the secondary amine compound is 1.0-1.3.

5. The preparation method according to claim 2, wherein, when preparing the homogeneous reaction system, molar ratio of methanoic acid to the primary amine compound or the secondary amine compound is 1.0-1.3.

6. The preparation method according to claim 3, wherein, when preparing the homogeneous reaction system, molar ratio of methanoic acid to the primary amine compound or the secondary amine compound is 1.0-1.3.

7. The preparation method according to claim 1, wherein, the amine compound of the primary amine or the secondary amine has a molecular formula R1R2NH, in which R1 and R2 are independently selected from hydrogen but not both hydrogen, C.sub.1-C.sub.14 hydrocarbyl group, and C.sub.1-C.sub.14 hydrocarbyl group containing 1-2 substituent groups; or, the primary amine or the secondary amine compound is a five-membered nitrogen-containing heterocyclic ring or a six-membered nitrogen-containing heterocyclic ring compound with at least one active hydrogen in the molecule, and the five-membered nitrogen-containing heterocyclic ring or the six-membered nitrogen-containing heterocyclic ring does not contain substituent group or contains 1-2 substituent groups; the 1-2 substituent groups are selected from halogen, nitro group, cyano group, lower alkoxy group, hydroxyl group or secondary amino group of a lower alkyl.

8. The preparation method according to claim 7, wherein, the amine compound of the primary amine or the secondary amine has a molecular formula R1R2NH, in which R1 is hydrogen, C.sub.1-C.sub.14 hydrocarbyl group or C.sub.1-C.sub.14 hydrocarbyl group containing 1-2 substituent groups; and R2 is C2-C14 hydrocarbyl group or C.sub.2-C.sub.14 hydrocarbyl group containing 1-2 substituent groups; or, the primary amine or the secondary amine compound is a five-membered nitrogen-containing heterocyclic ring or a six-membered nitrogen-containing heterocyclic ring compound with a pyrrolyl, a pyrrolidyl, a imidazolyl, a morpholino or a piperazinyl group.

9. The preparation method according to claim 7, wherein, the hydrocarbyl group is selected from alkane group, cycloalkyl group or aryl group.

10. The preparation method according to claim 8, wherein, the hydrocarbyl group is selected from alkane group, cycloalkyl group or aryl group.

11. The preparation method according to claim 1, wherein, the amine compound of the primary amine or the secondary amine is selected from diethylamine, dipropylamine, diisopropylamine, dibutylamine, diisobutylamine or n-butylamine.

12. The preparation method according to claim 7, wherein, the amine compound of the primary amine or the secondary amine is selected from diethylamine, dipropylamine, diisopropylamine, dibutylamine, diisobutylamine or n-butylamine.

13. The preparation method according to claim 1, further comprising performing purification and refining to the reaction product.

14. The preparation method according to claim 2, further comprising performing purification and refining to the reaction product.

15. The preparation method according to claim 3, further comprising performing purification and refining to the reaction product.

16. The preparation method according to claim 4, further comprising performing purification and refining to the reaction product.

17. The preparation method according to claim 7, further comprising performing purification and refining to the reaction product.

18. The preparation method according to claim 1, wherein the temperature is kept for 30-55 minutes.

19. The preparation method according to claim 1, wherein heating the homogeneous reaction system in the high-pressure reactor to 160 C. or higher, keeping temperature for 30-55 minutes, then continuing to heat the homogeneous reaction system to 190-230 C. to react until the pressure in the high-pressure reactor rises to 1.0-3.0 MPa and no higher.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a chromatogram for reaction product in embodiment 1;

(2) FIG. 2 is a chromatogram for the final product after purification and refining of the reaction product in embodiment 1;

(3) FIG. 3 is a chromatogram for the raw material of dioctyl amine in embodiment 8;

(4) FIG. 4 is a chromatogram for the reaction product in embodiment 8;

(5) FIG. 5 is a chromatogram for the reaction raw material of N,N-demethyldodecylamine in experimental example 1; and

(6) FIG. 6 is a chromatogram for the reaction product in experimental example 1.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(7) In order that the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present application are made clearer, elaborate descriptions will be presented as follows through specific embodiments. It should be understood that, the embodiments described herein are merely part of the embodiments of the present application, and the scopes of application and protection of the present application shall be subject to contents of the claims. Based on the entire description as well as all of the embodiments, all the other embodiments obtained by one with ordinary skill in the art without delivering creative efforts shall fall into the protection scope of the present application.

(8) Unless otherwise noted, qualitative and quantitative analysis of the reaction product and purified and refined product in the following embodiments and experimental examples adopt gas chromatographic analysis. The adopted gas chromatographic instrument, with a model number of GC2002 type (N/DF-2), is produced by Shanghai Kechuang Instruments Technology Co., Ltd, and uses a capillary chromatographic column (purchased from Lanzhou ATECH Technologies Co., Ltd, having a 60 m chromatographic column with an inner diameter of 0.32 mm, a 30 m chromatographic column with an inner diameter of 0.53 mm, a film with a thickness of 0.5 m, and an immobile liquid of AE.PEG-20M), as well as a hydrogen flame detector.

Embodiment 1: Preparation of N,N-Diethyl Formamide

(9) 306.9 g of methanoic acid with a purity of 85% (i.e., containing water 46.04 g) is added into a high-pressure reactor with a volume of 1 litre, a stirrer is started and 395 g of diethylamine with a purity of 99% is added via a constant-flux pump into the high-pressure reactor, and the mixture is stirred uniformly, so as to obtain a homogeneous reaction system, wherein molar ratio of methanoic acid to diethylamine is 1.05:1.

(10) With stirring continuing, the above homogeneous reaction system is heated to 160 C. and kept at the temperature for about 45 minutes, and is then heated to about 190 C. During the process, the pressure in the high-pressure reactor rises to about 1.2 MPa and substantially no higher, the reaction is maintained for about 2.5 hours, then carbon monoxide and steam in the high-pressure reactor are vented, and the reaction product is collected, so as to obtain about 700 g of a homogeneous transparent solution.

(11) Gas chromatographic analysis result of the above reaction product is shown in the following Table 1, and the obtained chromatogram is referred to FIG. 1 (using a gas chromatography column with a length of 60 meters, under the following specific test conditions: pressure before the column: 0.1 MPa, air pressure: 0.03 MPa, pressure of hydrogen gas: 0.025 MPa, temperature in the column box: 155 C., evaporation temperature: 220 C., test temperature: 220 C., measuring range: 9, sample injection fashion: split injection, split flow rate: 21.7 mL/min, and sample injection volume: 1 L). It can be seen from FIG. 1 and Table 1 that, two chromatographic peaks in good sharp shape and symmetrical with each other are present, and other apparent chromatographic peaks (no peaking for water) are absent under observation. Upon comparison with retention time of a standard sample, it can be determined that, the above two chromatographic peaks are characteristic peaks corresponding to diethylamine and N,N-diethyl formamide, respectively.

(12) Since there is no peaking for water during the test process, in the analysis result, concentration of N,N-diethyl formamide can be obtained as about 99.62%, concentration of diethylamine about 0.11%. And results in the following embodiments are processed in the same manner.

(13) Upon calculation, in this embodiment, conversion rate of diethylamine is up to more than 99%, and its selectivity is up to 99%.

(14) The above reaction product is subjected to purifying and refining, the product contains an extremely small amount of unreacted diethylamine, the boiling point of which is significantly different from that of N,N-diethyl formamide, thus diethylamine and water in the product can be removed by performing flash dewatering and vacuum rectification to the reaction product.

(15) Gas chromatographic analysis result of the above purified and refined product is shown in Table 2, with a chromatogram shown as FIG. 2, and the product index of refraction N.sub.D (20) is measured to be 1.4340, which further determines that the purified and refined product is N,N-diethyl formamide with a purity of about 99.96%, reaching a reagent grade.

(16) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Retention Concen- Chromatog- time tration raphic Number (minute) Name (%) peak area 1 4.815 Diethylamine 0.1135 5898 2 7.002 0.04592 2387 3 9.773 N,N-diethyl 99.62 5178222 formamide 4 10.649 0.002921 152 5 14.367 0.01099 571 6 15.262 0.06473 3365 7 28.118 0.01368 711 8 43.818 0.02083 1083 9 59.698 0.1107 5757 Sum 100 5198146

(17) TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Retention Concen- Chromatog- time tration raphic Number (minute) Name (%) peak area 1 5.370 0.0363 874 2 6.049 0.005868 141 3 9.948 N,N-diethyl 99.96 2405613 formamide Sum 100 2406628

Embodiment 2: Preparation of N,N-Diethyl Formamide

(18) 94.5 g of methanoic acid with a purity of 60% (i.e., containing water 38.6 g) is added into a high-pressure reactor of 1 litre, a stirrer is started and 146.3 g of diethylamine with a purity of 99% is added via a constant-flux pump into the high-pressure reactor, and the mixture is stirred uniformly, so as to obtain a homogeneous reaction system, wherein molar ratio of methanoic acid to diethylamine is 1.05:1.

(19) With stirring continuing, the above homogeneous reaction system is heated to 160 C. at a heating rate of about CC/minute, and kept at the temperature for about 45 minutes, and is then heated to about 190 C., and the reaction is maintained for about 2.5 hours. During the process, the pressure in the high-pressure reactor rises to about 1.3 MPa and no higher and is substantially stable. Then carbon monoxide and steam in the high-pressure reactor are vented, and the reaction product is collected, so as to obtain about 235 g of a homogeneous transparent solution.

(20) Upon chromatographic analysis and comparison of the above reaction product, it is determined that N,N-diethyl formamide with a concentration of about 90.3% is synthesized, and the reaction product contains incompletely reacted diethylamine with a concentration of about 9.64%. Upon calculation, the conversion rate of diethylamine is up to more than 90%, and the generated N,N-diethyl formamide has a selectivity of 99%.

(21) Flash dewatering and vacuum rectification technology are adopted to perform purification and refining to the above reaction product, so as to recycle the incompletely reacted diethylamine and remove the water therein, thereby obtaining N,N-diethyl formamide product with a purity of greater than 99.9%, which reaches a reagent grade.

Embodiment 3: Preparation of N,N-Dipropyl Formamide

(22) 284.1 g of methanoic acid with a purity of 85% (i.e., containing water 42.6 g) is added into a high-pressure reactor with a volume of 1 litre, a stirrer is started and 506 g of dipropylamine with a purity of 99% is added via a constant-flux pump into the high-pressure reactor, and the mixture is stirred uniformly, so as to obtain a homogeneous reaction system, wherein molar ratio of methanoic acid to dipropylamine is 1.06:1.

(23) With stirring continuing, the above homogeneous reaction system is heated to 160 C. and kept at the temperature for about 50 minutes, and is then heated to about 190 C. The pressure in the high-pressure reactor rises to about 1.2 MPa and no higher and is substantially stable, the reaction is maintained for about 2.5 hours, then carbon monoxide and steam in the high-pressure reactor are vented, and the reaction product is collected, so as to obtain about 780 g of a homogeneous transparent solution.

(24) Upon chromatographic analysis and comparison of the above reaction product, N,N-dipropyl formamide with a concentration of about 98.82% is determined to be obtained, the product also contains a small amount of dipropylamine with a concentration of about 1.17%. Upon calculation, the conversion rate of dipropylamine is up to more than 98%, and its selectivity is 99%.

(25) Flash dewatering and vacuum rectification are performed to the above reaction product, and the purified and refined product is subjected to chromatographic analysis, the concentration of which is measured to be about 99.93%, and the index of refraction N.sub.D (20) of which is measured to be 1.4398, suggesting that after purification and refining, N,N-dipropyl formamide with a purity of higher than 99.9% is obtained, which is higher than a reagent grade.

Embodiment 4: Preparation of N,N-Dibutyl Formamide

(26) 170.5 g of methanoic acid with a purity of 85% (i.e., containing water 25.5 g) and 391 g of dibutylamine with a purity of 99% are added into a high-pressure reactor with a volume of 1 litre, a stirrer is started, and the stirring is performed to achieve a homogeneous effect, so as to obtain a homogeneous reaction system, wherein molar ratio of methanoic acid to dibutylamine is 1.05:1.

(27) With stirring continuing, the above homogeneous reaction system is heated to 160 C. and kept at the temperature for about 55 minutes, and is then heated to about 190 C. The pressure in the high-pressure reactor rises to about 1.2 MPa and no higher and is substantially stable, the reaction is maintained for about 2.5 hours, then carbon monoxide and steam in the high-pressure reactor are vented, and the reaction product is collected, so as to obtain about 557 g of a homogeneous transparent solution.

(28) The above reaction product is subjected to chromatographic analysis, and the obtained chromatographic analysis result is compared with that of a standard sample, so as to determine that N,N-dibutyl formamide with a concentration of about 98.19% is obtained, the product also contains a small amount of dibutylamine with a concentration of about 1.25%. Upon calculation, the conversion rate of dibutylamine is up to more than 98%, and its selectivity is up to 99%.

(29) Flash dewatering and vacuum rectification are performed to the above reaction product, and the purified and refined product is subjected to chromatographic analysis, the concentration of which is measure to be about 99.21%, and the index of refraction N.sub.D (20) of which is measured to be 1.440, suggesting that after purification and refining, N,N-dibutyl formamide with a purity of higher than 99% is obtained, which reaches a reagent grade.

Embodiment 5: Preparation of N,N-Diisopropyl Formamide

(30) 255.7 g of methanoic acid with a purity of 85% (i.e., containing water 38.3 g) and 460 g of diisopropylamine with a purity of 99% are added into a high-pressure reactor with a volume of 1 litre, a stirrer is started, and the mixture is stirred uniformly, so as to obtain a homogeneous reaction system, wherein molar ratio of methanoic acid to diisopropylamine is 1.05:1.

(31) With stirring continuing, the above homogeneous reaction system is heated to 200 C. The pressure in the high-pressure reactor rises to about 1.7 MPa and no higher, the reaction is maintained for about 3 hours, then carbon monoxide and steam in the high-pressure reactor are vented, and the reaction product is collected, so as to obtain about 709 g of a homogeneous transparent solution.

(32) Upon chromatographic analysis and comparison of the above reaction product, it is determined that N,N-diisopropyl formamide with a concentration of about 72.23% is obtained, the product also contains diisopropylamine with a concentration of about 27.38%. Upon calculation, the conversion rate of diisopropylamine is up to more than 72%, and its selectivity is 99%.

(33) Flash dewatering and vacuum rectification are adopted to perform purification and refining to the above reaction product, so as to recycle diisopropylamine therein, and the purified and refined product is subjected to chromatographic analysis, the purity of which is measure to be about 99.96%, and the index of refraction N.sub.D (20) of which is measure to be 1.4370, suggesting that after purification and refining, N,N-diisopropyl formamide with a purity of higher than 99% is obtained, reaching a reagent grade.

Embodiment 6: Preparation of N,N-Diisobutyl Formamide

(34) 227.3 g of methanoic acid with a purity of 85% (i.e., containing water 34.1 g) and 522.2 g of diisobutylamine with a purity of 99% are added into a high-pressure reactor of 1 litre, a stirrer is started to mix the above substances homogeneously, so as to obtain a homogeneous reaction system, wherein molar ratio of methanoic acid to diisobutylamine is 1.05:1.

(35) With stirring continuing, the above homogeneous reaction system is heated to 160 C. and kept at the temperature for about 40 minutes, and is then heated to about 200 C. The pressure in the high-pressure reactor rises to about 1.7 MPa and no higher, the reaction is maintained for about 3 hours, then carbon monoxide and steam in the high-pressure reactor are vented, and the reaction product is collected, so as to obtain about 743 g of a homogeneous transparent solution.

(36) The above reaction product is subjected to chromatographic analysis and comparison, the obtained chromatographic analysis result is compared with that of a standard sample, so as to determine that the obtained product contains N,N-diisobutyl formamide with a concentration of about 99.58%, the product also contains a small amount of diisobutylamine with a concentration of about 0.34%. Upon calculation, the conversion rate of diisobutylamine is up to more than 99%, and the generated N,N-diisobutyl formamide has a selectivity of 99%.

(37) The above reaction product is subjected to flash separation, and the purified and refined product undergoes chromatographic analysis, the index of refraction N.sub.D (20) of which is measure to be 1.4416, and the purity of which reaches a reagent grade.

Embodiment 7: Preparation of N-n-Butyl Formamide (Butyl Formamide)

(38) 272.7 g of methanoic acid with a purity of 85% (i.e., containing water 40.9 g) and 351 g of n-butylamine with a purity of 99% are added into a high-pressure reactor with a volume of 1 litre, and the mixture is stirred to obtain a homogeneous reaction system, wherein molar ratio of methanoic acid to n-butylamine is 1.05:1.

(39) With stirring continuing, the above homogeneous reaction system is heated to 190 C. The pressure in the high-pressure reactor rises to about 1.3 MPa and no higher, the reaction is maintained for about 2.5 hours, then carbon monoxide and steam in the high-pressure reactor are vented, and the reaction product is collected, so as to obtain about 615 g of a homogeneous transparent solution.

(40) The above reaction product is subjected to chromatographic analysis and comparison, so as to determine that N-n-butyl formamide with a concentration of about 99.20% is obtained, the product also contains a small amount of n-butylamine with a concentration of about 0.15%. Upon calculation, the conversion rate of n-butylamine is up to more than 99%, and its selectivity is up to more than 99%.

(41) The above N-n-butyl formamide already has a purity of up to a reagent grade, and can hence be directly applied after flash dewatering, or may be further purified and refined according to practical needs, thereby obtaining N-n-butyl formamide with a higher purity.

Embodiment 8: Preparation of N,N-Dioctyl Formamide

(42) To enhance the credibility of product detection and analysis conclusions, the raw material is also subjected to chromatographic analysis. Gas chromatography test results of the used raw material of dioctyl amine are shown in Table 3, with a chromatogram referred to FIG. 3 (using a gas chromatography column with a length of 60 meters, under the following specific test conditions: pressure before the column: 0.1 MPa, air pressure: 0.03 MPa, pressure of hydrogen gas: 0.025 MPa, temperature in the column box: 155 , evaporation temperature: 220 C., detection temperature: 220 C., measurement range: 9, sample injection fashion: split injection, split flow rate: 21.7 mL/min, injection volume: 1 L). It can be seen from the chromatographic test result that, the appearance time of dioctyl amine is about 10 minutes, the purity of the raw material of dioctyl amine is about 96.1%, and the raw material of dioctyl amine contains a small amount of impurities.

(43) 31.4 g of methanoic acid with a purity of 98% (i.e., containing water 0.628 g) and 50 g of dioxane solvent are added into a high-pressure reactor with a volume of 1 litre, a stirrer is started and 157 g of dioctyl amine is added via a constant-flux pump into the high-pressure reactor, and the mixture is stirred uniformly, so as to obtain a homogeneous reaction system, wherein molar ratio of methanoic acid to dioctyl amine is 1.08:1.

(44) With stirring continuing, the above homogeneous reaction system is heated to 160 C. and kept at the temperature for about 30 minutes, and is then heated to about 190 C. The pressure in the high-pressure reactor rises to about 1.5 MPa and no higher, the reaction is maintained for about 2.5 hours, then carbon monoxide and steam in the high-pressure reactor are vented, and the reaction product is collected, so as to obtain about 236.9 g of a homogeneous transparent light brown solution.

(45) Gas chromatographic analysis results of the above reaction product are shown in Table 4, with an obtained chromatogram referred to FIG. 4. According to Table 4 and FIG. 4, several chromatographic peaks are present. Upon comparison with the retention time of a standard sample, and in combination with the gas chromatographic analysis result of the above raw material of dioctyl amine, it can be determined that the reaction product contains N,N-dioctyl formamide with a concentration of about 87.46%, and also contains a small amount of incompletely reacted dioctyl amine with a concentration of about 0.74%, as well as solvent dioxane with a concentration of about 7.75%, and the remaining chromatographic peaks represent impurities introduced by the raw material of dioctyl amine and by products generated during the reaction process.

(46) Upon calculation, in this embodiment, the conversion rate of dioctyl amine is up to more than 98%, and its selectivity is up to more than 99%.

(47) TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Retention Concen- Chromatog- time tration raphic Number (minute) Name (%) peak area 1 9.807 0.8978 14171 2 10.033 Dioctyl amine 96.1 1516874 3 13.585 Raw material 0.6888 10872 impurity 4 15.222 Raw material 0.83 13101 impurity 5 27.298 1.48 23351 sum 100 1578369

(48) TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Retention Concen- Chromatog- time tration raphic Number (minute) Name (%) peak area 1 8.4550 Dioxane 7.7500 376823 2 10.412 Dioctyl amine 0.7455 36241 3 14.018 Raw material 1.6789 81613 impurity 4 15.939 Raw material 0.8357 40623 impurity 5 26.083 N,N-dioctyl 87.460 4251490 formamide 6 28.534 By product 0.7808 37957 7 31.212 By product 0.7500 36460 Sum 100 4861207

Embodiment 9: Preparation of N-Cyclohexyl Formamide

(49) 255.7 g of methanoic acid with purity of 85% (i.e., containing water 38.4 g) and 446.3 g of cyclohexylamine with a purity of 99% are added into a high-pressure reactor with a volume of 1 litre, the mixture are mixed uniformly, so as to obtain a homogeneous reaction system, wherein molar ratio of methanoic acid to cyclohexylamine is 1.06:1.

(50) With stirring continuing, the above homogeneous reaction system is heated to about 190 C. The pressure in the high-pressure reactor rises to about 1.3 MPa and no higher, the reaction is maintained for about 2.5 hours, then carbon monoxide and steam in the high-pressure reactor are vented, and the reaction product is collected, so as to obtain about 694 g of a homogeneous transparent solution.

(51) The above reaction product is subjected to chromatographic analysis, and the obtained chromatographic analysis result is compared with that of a standard sample, so as to determine the obtained product contains N-cyclohexyl formamide with a concentration of about 99.84%, the product also contains an extremely small amount of incompletely reacted cyclohexylamine with a concentration of about 0.10%. Upon calculation, the conversion rate of cyclohexylamine is up to more than 99%, and the generated N-cyclohexyl formamide has a selectivity of up to more than 99%.

(52) The above reaction product is subjected to vacuum rectification, so as to obtain N-cyclohexyl formamide product with a purity of greater than 99%, reaching a reagent grade.

Embodiment 10: Preparation of N-Phenyl Formamide

(53) 103.2 g of methanoic acid with purity of 98% (i.e., containing water 2.06 g) is added into a high-pressure reactor with a volume of 1 litre, a stirrer is started and 190.1 g of aniline with a purity of 98% is added via a constant-flux pump into the high-pressure reactor, and the mixture is stirred uniformly, so as to obtain a homogeneous reaction system, wherein molar ratio of methanoic acid to aniline is 1.1:1.

(54) With stirring continuing, the above homogeneous reaction system is heated to about 190 C. The pressure in the high-pressure reactor rises to about 1.5 MPa and no higher, the reaction is maintained for about 1.5 hours, then carbon monoxide and steam in the high-pressure reactor are vented, and the reaction product is collected, so as to obtain about 290.3 g of a homogeneous transparent solution.

(55) The above reaction product is subjected to chromatographic analysis, and the obtained chromatographic analysis result is compared with that of a standard sample, so as to determine that the obtained product contains N-phenyl formamide with a concentration of 84.78%, and the reaction product also contains a small amount of incompletely reacted aniline with a concentration of about 12.35%. Upon calculation, the conversion rate of aniline is 87.6%, and the generated N-phenyl formamide has a selectivity of 97.5%.

Embodiment 11: Preparation of N-Hydroxyethyl Formamide

(56) 227.3 g of methanoic acid with purity of 85% (i.e., containing water 34.095 g) is added into a high-pressure reactor with a volume of 1 litre, a stirrer is started and 241.9 g of monoethanolamine (ethanolamine) with a purity of 99% is added via a constant-flux pump into the high-pressure reactor, and the mixture is stirred uniformly, so as to obtain a homogeneous reaction system, wherein molar ratio of methanoic acid to ethanolamine is 1.07:1.

(57) With stirring continuing, the above homogeneous reaction system is heated to about 190 C. The pressure in the high-pressure reactor rises to about 1.3 MPa and no higher, the reaction is maintained for about 2.5 hours, then carbon monoxide and steam in the high-pressure reactor are vented, and the reaction product is collected, so as to obtain about 460 g of a homogeneous transparent solution.

(58) The above reaction product is subjected to chromatographic analysis, and the obtained chromatographic analysis result is compared with that of a standard sample, so as to determine that the obtained product contains N-hydroxyethyl formamide with a concentration of about 97.04%, the reaction product also contains a small amount of incompletely reacted monoethanolamine with a concentration of about 0.57%. Upon calculation, the conversion rate of monoethanolamine is up to more than 99%; and the generated N-hydroxyethyl formamide has a selectivity of 98%.

Embodiment 12: Preparation of N-Formyl Morpholine

(59) 297.6 g of methanoic acid with purity of 85% (i.e., containing water 44.6 g) and 440 g of morpholine with a purity of 98% are added into a high-pressure reactor with a volume of 1 litre, and the mixture is stirred uniformly, so as to obtain a homogeneous reaction system, wherein molar ratio of methanoic acid to morpholine is 1.1:1.

(60) With stirring continuing, the above homogeneous reaction system is heated to 190 C. The pressure in the high-pressure reactor rises to about 1.3 MPa and no higher, the reaction is maintained for about 2.5 hours, then carbon monoxide and steam in the high-pressure reactor are vented, and the reaction product is collected, so as to obtain about 722 g of homogeneous transparent solution.

(61) The above reaction product is subjected to chromatographic analysis, and the obtained chromatographic analysis result is compared with that of a standard sample, so as to determine that the obtained product contains N-formyl morpholine with a concentration of about 97.20%, the product also contains a small amount of incompletely reacted morpholine with a concentration of about 0.50%. Upon calculation, the conversion rate of morpholine raw material is up to more than 99%, and its selectivity is up to 98%.

(62) Flash dewatering and vacuum rectification are performed to the above reaction product, and the purified and refined product is subjected to chromatographic analysis, the concentration of which is measure to be about 99.88%, and the index of refraction N.sub.D (20) of which is measured to be 1.4850, suggesting that after purification and refining, N-formyl morpholine with a purity of higher than a reagent grade is obtained.

Embodiment 13: Preparation of 4-Methylbenzamide (p-Toluamide)

(63) 51.6 g of methanoic acid with a purity of 98% (i.e., containing water 1.03 g) and 50 g of solvent dimethylformamide are added into a high-pressure reactor with a volume of 1 litre, a stirrer is started and 108 g of p-toluidine with a purity of 99% is added into the high-pressure reactor, and methanoic acid and p-toluidine at a molar ratio of 1.1:1 are mixed uniformly to obtain a homogeneous reaction system.

(64) With stirring continuing, the above homogeneous reaction system is heated to 190 C. The pressure in the high-pressure reactor rises to about 1.8 MPa and no higher and is substantially kept stable, the reaction is maintained for about 2.5 hours, then carbon monoxide and steam in the high-pressure reactor are vented, and the reaction product is collected, so as to obtain about 205 g of homogeneous transparent solution.

(65) The above reaction product is subjected to chromatographic analysis, and the obtained chromatographic analysis result is compared with the retention time of a standard sample, with the retention time of p-toluidine raw material and the solvent dimethylformamide taken into consideration, it is determined that, the obtained product contains 4-methylbenzamide with a concentration of about 47.86%, the product also contains a small amount of incompletely reacted p-toluidine with a concentration of about 35.57% as well as the solvent dimethylformamide with a concentration of about 13.18%. In addition, the reaction product also contains a small amount of by product with a concentration of about 1.62% generated during the reaction process. Upon calculation, the conversion rate of p-toluidine is about 58.2%, and its selectivity is up to 96.7%.

Embodiment 14: Preparation of N-Dodecyl Formamide

(66) 29.9 g of methanoic acid with a purity of 98% (i.e., containing water 0.6 g) and 90 g of solvent isopropanol are added into a high-pressure reactor with a volume of 1 litre, and 113.5 g of dodecylamine (laurylamine) with a purity of 98% are added during stirring, and the mixture are mixed uniformly to obtain a homogeneous reaction system, the molar ratio of methanoic acid to laurylamine is 1.05:1.

(67) With stirring continuing, the above homogeneous reaction system is heated to 160 C. and kept at the temperature for about 35 minutes, and is then heated to about 190 C. The pressure in the high-pressure reactor rises to about 1.3 MPa and no higher, the reaction is maintained for about 2.5 hours, then carbon monoxide and steam in the high-pressure reactor are vented, and the reaction product is collected, so as to obtain about 231.4 g of homogeneous transparent solution.

(68) The above reaction product is subjected to chromatographic analysis, and the obtained chromatographic analysis result is compared with that of a standard sample, so as to determine that the obtained product contains N-dodecyl formamide with a concentration of about 72.91%, the product also contains isopropanol solvent with a concentration of about 27.09%. Characteristic peaks of dodecylamine fail to be detected, therefore, dodecylamine can be determined as being converted almost completely, and both conversion rate and selectivity of dodecylamine reach more than 99%.

Embodiment 15: Preparation of N-Formyl Pyrrolidine

(69) 113.6 g of methanoic acid with a purity of 85% (i.e., containing water 17 g) is added into a high-pressure reactor with a volume of 1 litre, a stirrer is started and 143.7 g of pyrrolidine with a purity of 99% is added into the high-pressure reactor via a constant-flux pump, and the mixture are mixed uniformly to obtain a homogeneous reaction system, wherein the molar ratio of methanoic acid to pyrrolidine is 1.05:1.

(70) With stirring continuing, the above homogeneous reaction system is heated to 190 C. The pressure in the high-pressure reactor rises to about 1.2 MPa and no higher, the reaction is maintained for about 2.5 hours, then carbon monoxide and steam in the high-pressure reactor are vented, and the reaction product is collected, so as to obtain about 254 g of homogeneous transparent solution.

(71) The above reaction product is subjected to chromatographic analysis, and the obtained chromatographic analysis result is compared with that of a standard sample, so as to determine that the obtained product contains N-formyl pyrrolidine with a concentration of about 97.01%, the product also contains a small amount of incompletely reacted pyrrolidine with a concentration of about 2.99%. Upon calculation, the conversion rate of pyrrolidine is up to more than 97%, and its selectivity is 99%.

Experimental Example 16

(72) 113.6 g of methanoic acid with a purity of 85% (i.e., containing water 17.04 g) and 435.5 g of N,N-demethyldodecylamine with a purity of 98% are added into a high-pressure reactor with a volume of 1 litre, and are mixed uniformly to obtain a homogeneous liquid.

(73) With stirring continuing, the above homogeneous liquid is heated, first to about 160 C. and kept at the temperature for about 35 minutes, and is then heated to about 190 C., the reaction is maintained for about 2.5 hours. The pressure in the high-pressure reactor rises to about 3.45 MPa and changes no more, then carbon monoxide and steam in the high-pressure reactor are vented, and the reaction product is collected, so as to obtain about 489 g of a homogeneous transparent solution.

(74) Chromatographic analysis result of the above raw material of N,N-demethyldodecylamine is referred to Table 5 and FIG. 5 (using a gas chromatography column with a length of 30 meters, an inner diameter of 0.53 mm, a film thickness of 0.5 m, and an immobile liquid of AE.PEG-20M. The analysis is carried out under the following specific test conditions: pressure before the column: 0.03 MPa, air pressure: 0.03 MPa, pressure of hydrogen gas: 0.025 MPa, temperature in the column box: 280 C., evaporation temperature: 300 C., test temperature: 300 C., measuring range: 9, sample injection fashion: split injection, split flow rate: 75 mL/min, and sample injection volume: 0.2 L). According to the chromatographic analysis result, the retention time of N,N-demethyldodecylamine can be determined as 1.268 minute, and the concentration about 98.25%. The chromatographic analysis result of the reaction product is referred to Table 6 and FIG. 6, and is compared with the chromatographic analysis result of the raw material of N,N-demethyldodecylamine, and the chromatogram of the reaction product is basically consistent with that of the raw material, the retention time corresponding to the chromatographic peak is also 1.268 minute, and the concentration is about 99.44%, therefore, it can be determined that, the main component of the reaction product is N,N-demethyldodecylamine, suggesting that no expected reactions occur in the homogeneous system formed between the raw material of N,N-demethyldodecylamine and methanoic acid.

(75) TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 Retention Concen- Chromatog- time tration raphic Number (minute) Name (%) peak area 1 1.268 N,N-demethyl- 98.25 1990626 dodecylamine 2 37.826 1.746 35368 sum 100 2025994

(76) TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 6 Retention Concen- Chromatog- time tration raphic Number (minute) Name (%) peak area 1 0.844 0.005865 120 2 0.916 0.01238 254 3 1.268 N,N-demethyl- 99.44 2036804 dodecylamine 4 1.553 0.5431 11124 Sum 100 2048302

(77) According to the above embodiments, it is further understandable that, adopting the preparation method of the present application, with methanoic acid and a primary amine or a secondary amine compound as the reaction raw materials to undergo a homogeneous reaction, and without using a catalyst, can obtain a formamide compound. The preparation method has few by-reactions, the primary amine or the secondary amine compound has a very high selectivity, and the preparation technique is simple and controllable in operation. Even if part of the raw material of the primary amine or the secondary amine compound has a slightly low conversion rate (compared with that in other embodiments of the present application), unreacted raw materials can be readily recycled and reused through purification and refining of the reaction product. At the same time, a formamide product with a reagent grade can be obtained from the reaction product upon simple purification and refining.

(78) Finally, it should be noted that, the above embodiments are merely meant to illustrate rather than limit the technical solutions of the present application; and although the present application has been concretely described in reference to the above embodiments, one with ordinary skill in the art shall understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments, or that equivalent substitutions can still be made to part or all of the technical features therein; neither these modifications nor these substitutions shall make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions depart from the scope of the technical solutions in the above embodiments of the present application.