Process for the preparation of methacrylamide from methylmethacrylate

Claim 1

A process for the preparation of methacrylamide by the reaction of methylmethacrylate and ammonia comprising: (a) adding methylmethacrylate and a surfactant to an aqueous solution of ammonium hydroxide wherein said ammonium hydroxide is used in amounts such that a molar excess of ammonium hydroxide is used per mol of methylmethacrylate to form a reaction mixture comprising a methylmethacrylate oil phase and an ammonium hydroxide aqueous phase; (b) stirring said reaction mixture and maintaining the same at a temperature in the range of about 10° C. to 50° C. until said oil phase and said aqueous phase become a single phase and the reaction is completed; and (c) recovering methacrylamide from the resultant single phase reaction mixture comprising ammonia, water, methanol and methacrylamide, ammonia gas being continuously added to said reaction mixture as the reaction proceeds so as to resaturate the reaction mixture with ammonia gas while the reaction proceeds, the recovered methacrylamide being characterized by its compatibility for the preparation of isocyanate resins.