Process for the production of pyridine aldehydes and pyridoines

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR PRODUCING AT LEAST ONE COMPOUND SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF PYRIDINE ALDEHYDES AND THEIR DIMERIZATION PRODUCTS WHICH COMPRISES PASSING METHYL PYRIDINE IN ADMIXTURE WITH STEAM AND AN OXYGEN CONTAINING GAS IN THE VAPOR PHASE THROUGH A REACTION SPACE CONTAINING AN OXIDATION CATALYST COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE METAL OXIDE SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF OXIDES OF METALS OF SUBGROUP A OF GROUPS V, VI AND VII OF THE PERIODIC SYSTEM AT A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN 250* C. AND 450* C., THE QUANTITY OF OXYGEN IN SUCH GAS MIXTURE BEING AT MOST EQUAL TO X MOLES PER MOL OF METHYL PYRIDINE WHERE X=(4.06-2.02.LOG.P).(S+1.4) IN WHICH P IS THE PER CENT BY WEIGHT, EXPRESSED AS A WHOLE NUMBER OF METHYL PYRIDINE IN THE ADMIXTURE OF METHYL PYRIDINE AND STEAM AND S IS THE SPACE VELOCITY DIVIDED BY 10,000 AND RECOVERING SUCH COMPOUND FROM THE REACTION MIXTURE LEAVING THE REACTION SPACE.