Process of manufacturing nitrilotriacetonitrile

Claim 1

A CONTINUOUS PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING NITRILOTRIACETONITRILE WHICH COMPRISES CONTINUOUSLY BRINGING INTO REACTIVE CONTACT FOR A PERIOD OF FROM ABOUT ONE TO ABOUT 30 MINUTES, UNDER SUPERATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE, AT A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN ABOUT 120*C. AND THE TEMPERATURE AT WHICH THE AUTOGENOUS PRESSURE IS ABOUT 100 POUNDS PER SQUARE INCH GAUGE, IN AN AQUEOUS LIQUID MIXTURE. AT A PH MAINTAINED BELOW 5 BY ADDITION OF A MINERAL ACID, HEXAMETHYLENETETRAMINE OR EQUIVALENT QUANTITIES OF AMMONIA AND FORMALDEHYDE WITH FORMALDEHYDE AND HYDROGEN CYANIDE, SAID HEXAMETHYLENETERTRAMINE OR EQUIVALNT QUANTITIES OF AMMINO AND FORMALDEHYDE, HYDROGEN CYANIDE AND FORMALDEHYDE BEING PROVIDED IN AMOUNTS WHICH ARE STONICHIOMETRICALLY NECCESARY TO CONVERT THE AMMONIA TO NITRILOTRIACETONITRILE, TO FORM A LIQUID REACTION MIXTURE CONTAINING NITRILOTRIACETONITRILE, CONTINUOUSLY CONVEYING THE LIQUID REACTION MIXTURE CONTAINING THE NITRILOTRIACETONITRILE PRODUCT TO A QUENCHING MEANS TO RAPIDLY COOL SAID AQUEOUS LIQUID REACTION MIXTURE TO AT LEAST BELOW 90*C. TO PRECIPITATE THE NITRILOTRIACETONITRILE PRODUCT AND CONTINUOUSLY RECOVERING THE NITRILOTRIACETONITRILE PRODUCT.