PROCESS FOR PREPARING GLYCIDYL ESTERS OF BRANCHED MONOCARBOXYLIC ACIDS

Accordingly, the invention relates to a process for the preparation of a glycidyl ester of a branched monocarboxylic acid by reacting an aliphatic monocarboxylic acid of the formula R 1 R 2 R 3 COOH, wherein R 1 , R 2 , and R 3 each independently represent an alkyl radical of normal or branched structure containing from 1 to 20 carbon atoms and an epoxyalkyl halide containing from 3 to 13 carbon atoms in the presence of a catalyst, wherein - a greater than stoichiometric amount of epoxyalkyl halide is reacted with the acid (e.g., preferably in the molar ratio of epoxyalkyl halide to acid that is in the range of from 1.02:1 to 1.50: 1) to form an intermediate reaction product comprising a halohydrin, - the epoxyalkyl halide is added to the acid with appropriate cooling of the reactants and/or the reaction mixture to keep the temperature of the reaction mixture below 80°C, whereupon the epoxyalkyl halide and the acid are reacted at a temperature below 80°C (preferably in the range of from 55 to 75°C) for a time sufficient to reduce the amount of acid to no more than 2 wt% but no less than 0.1 wt% calculated on the initial amount of acid, - optionally removing any excess epoxyalkyl halide from the reaction product prior to the ring closure reaction, - subjecting the reaction product to a ring closure reaction (DHC) and optionally to one or more after treatments (ADHC) for removal of any remaining halo functionality.