Process for the preparation of cyclopropanamine

Abstract

A process for the preparation of cyclopropanamine by Hofmann degradation of cyclopropanecarboxamide, comprising the following steps: (1) suspending cyclopropanecarboxamide, either (A) in 1.1 to 4 mol of sodium hydroxide, in solution whose concentration is 10 to 50%, per mol of amide, or (B) in a sparing amount of water, (2) adding 1 to 1.5 mol of hypochlorite, per mol of amide, from a 5 to 15% strength hypochlorite solution at a temperature of 0.degree. to 20.degree. C., (3) adding 1.1 to 4 mol of sodium hydroxide, in solution whose concentration is 10 to 50%, per mol of amide, in the case where a suspension has been formed according to step (1)(B), (4) reacting the amide, hypochlorite, and sodium hydroxide for 10 to 60 minutes to form a homogeneous reaction mixture, (5) continuously passing the homogeneous reaction mixture through a tubular reactor at a temperature of 45.degree. to 260.degree. C., (6) feeding the reaction output from the tubular reactor into a distillation column and keeping it under reflux with water, wherein cyclopropanamine is distilled off.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.