Acrylonitrile: Ethylene Cyanohydrin Dripped onto a Hot Acetate Melt

Acrylonitrile is the 'A' in ABS plastic. Carpenter and Davis (American Cyanamid, US 2,461,492, 1949) drip ethylene cyanohydrin onto a stirred melt of an acetate salt at 210–220 °C: water splits off, and acrylonitrile and water distil over together and settle into two layers. Their example got 95 %, and the same catalyst kept working for the next batch. Acrylonitrile is toxic: closed apparatus, fume hood. The picture: our diagram.