PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION OF 2 CHLORO-5-CHLOROMETHYL PYRIDINE

A process for the preparation of 2-chloro-5-chloromethyl-pyridine of the formula (I) which comprises reacting nicotinic acid of the formula (II) with phosphorus pentachloride to produce 3-trichloromethylpyridine of the formula (III) reacting the 3-trichloromethylpyridine in a 2nd step with an alkali metal alkoxide of the formula R-O-M (IV) in which R represents alkyl and M represaents an alkali metal cation, to produce a pyridine ether acetal of the formula (V) reacting the pyridine ether acetal in a 3rd step with dilute aqueous acid to produce pyridone aldehyde of the formula (VI) hydrogenating the pyridone aldehyde in a 4th step with molecular hydrogen in the presence of a hydrogenation catalyst to produce the pyridylmethanol compound of the formula (VII) and reducing the pyridylmethanol compound in a 5th step with a chlorinating agent.