George Ernest Morris

PREPARATION OF CARBONATE ESTERS

A process for preparing carbonate esters by the oxidative carbonylation of an alcohol is provided. The process comprises reacting an alcohol with carbon monoxide in the presence of a dihydrocarbyl peroxide the process being characterized by the fact that the carbon monoxide pressure at the reaction temperature is less than 15 bars and by the fact that a catalyst comprising a platinum group metal and a copper compound is employed. The process is useful for preparing dimethyl carbonate from methanol and carbon monoxide.