Process for preparing alkoxylated tertiary amines

Claim 1

A process for selectively preparing at ambient pressure an alkoxylated tertiary amine having the formula: ##STR7## or a mixture of such amines which comprises reacting an oxyalkylated alcohol of the formula: ##STR8## or a mixture of such alcohols, with a secondary amine of the formula HNR 3 R 4 at elevated temperature in the presence of a catalytic quantity of an amination catalyst consisting of a combination of Raney nickel and molybdenum wherein R is a straight or branched chain alkyl group having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms, a cyclic alkyl group having from 5 to 10 carbon atoms, an aryl hydrocarbon group having up to 12 carbon atoms, or an aralkyl or alkaryl hydrocarbon group having up to 18 carbon atoms, R 1 is a single unit or a series of units of the formula: ##STR9## wherein in each unit R 5 is independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and a straight or branched chain alkyl group having from 1 to 12 carbon atoms and x is a integer of from 0 to 40, R 2 is hydrogen or a straight or branched chain alkyl group having from 1 to 12 carbon atoms, R 3 and R 4 are each independently selected from the group consisting of straight and branched chain alkyl groups having from 1 to 12 carbon atoms, cyclic alkyl groups having from 5 to 10 carbon atoms, 1 to 4 carbon atom alkyl substituted or unsubstituted benzyl groups and allyl.