Ethyl lactate is also used as solvent for nitrocellulose, cellulose acetate, and cellulose ethers. Ethyl lactate hydrolyzes in the presence of water and acids or bases into lactic acid and ethanol. Ethyl lactate can be used as a cosolvent to produce suitable conditions for the formation of aryl aldimines. Ethyl lactate Ethyl lactate, also known as lactic acid ethyl ester, is a monobasic ester formed from lactic acid and ethanol, commonly used as a solvent. This compound is considered biodegradable and can be used as a water-rinsible degreaser. Ethyl lactate is found naturally in small quantities in a wide variety of foods
Ethyl cyanoacetate This reactivity is similar to that of esters of malonic acid. As an example of reactivity at the nitrile, diethyl malonate is obtained from cyanoacetic acid ethyl ester by reaction with ethanol in the presence of strong acids. Heating in the presence of sodium ethoxide forms the dimeric 3-amino-2-cyano-2-pentendiaciddiethylester. Due to its functionality cyanoacetate reacts: Ethyl cyanoacetate is a building block for the synthesis of heterocycles which are used for example as drugs: Also many other functional heterocycles are in good yields accessible from ethyl cyanoacetate, such as 3-substituted coumarin derivatives. Non-cyclic products from this starting material include: Ethyl cyanoacetate