Racemization process for optically active carboxylic acids or salts or esters thereof

A method for racemizing in the presence of one or more organic nitrogenous bases, one of the enantiomers, or an enantiometrically enriched mixture, of an optically active carboxylic compound of the formula:

• R.sup.1 R.sup.2 R.sup.3 CCOOZ (I)
• where R.sup.1, R.sup.2, and R.sup.3 are different from each other and are selected from the group consisting of a hydrogen atom, hydrocarbyl groups, hydrocarbyloxy groups, hydrocarbylthio groups, hydrocarbylcarbonyl, halohydrocarbyl groups, hydrocarbyloxyhydrocarbyl groups, heteroaromatic groups, and halogen atoms, with the proviso that none or only one of R.sup.1, R.sup.2, and R.sup.3 can be a halogen atom, and where Z is a hydrogen atom, an alkali metal cation, a hydrocarbyl group, a cation of a nitrogenous base or a combination of two or more of the foregoing, said method comprising:
• heating an aqueous solution of the optically active carboxylic compound and the organic nitrogenous base in the presence of a sufficient amount of an inorganic alkali metal base having a base strength greater than that of the organic nitrogenous base to provide an excess of alkali metal cation in the solution relative to the amount of said optically active carboxylic compound present in the solution, at one or more temperatures and for a time sufficient to racemize the optically active carboxylic compound while in solution, said optically active carboxylic compound, said organic nitrogenous base, and said inorganic alkali metal base being in whatever form or forms they may exist while in the solution.