99 Novel method for dimethyl carbonate synthesis using methyl nitrite

A novel method for the preparation of dimethyl carbonate (DMC) was developed by Ube Industries Ltd., Japan. In this method, two reaction processes are combined; one is the reaction of DMC synthesis in gas phase from methyl nitrate (MN) and CO over the supported Pd catalyst and the other is MN synthesis from methanol, O 2 and NO, where NO produced from the first reaction is mainly utilized. The remarkable features of this method are 1) high DMC selectivity and 2) suppression of catalyst deactivation. These originate from the reaction condition of DMC synthesis in the present method in which no O 2 is contained in the reactant and H 2 O is not produced.