THE PRODUCTION OF N,N-DIALKYLAMINOETHYL (METH)ACRYLATES

A method and apparatus for preparing a N,N-dialkylaminoalkyl acrytate in a continuous transesterification reaction. The reaction involves adding alkyl acrylates such as methacrylate or ethacrylate to a reboiler mechanism and efficiently removing alcohol co-products. Because the reaction is continuous, the alkyl acrylates can be added as needed to increase output, decrease output, or fine-tune the reaction dynamics. An entrainer is used to form a volatile azeotrope which contains both alcohol and entrainer and which is easily removed from the reboiler mechanism. This method reduces the amount of entrainer needed per unit of alkyl acrylate used and eliminates any need to purify the end product from entrainer contamination of the resulting N,N-dialkylaminoalkyl acrylate product.