Isopropyl lactate (CAS NO.: ), which is also known as , isopropyl ester, could be produced through the following synthetic routes.

In a 3-l. round-bottomed flask fitted with a 1-meter fractionating column1 are placed 450 g. (7.5 moles) of anhydrous isopropyl alcohol, 212 g. (2 moles) of u.s.p. 85 per cent lactic acid, 1 l. of benzene, and 5 cc. of concentrated sulfuric acid. The flask is placed in an air bath on an electric hot plate and heated until the benzene-isopropyl alcohol-water ternary mixture distils at 66.5°. Distillation is continued slowly (six to seven hours) until the temperature at the head of the column rises to and persists at 71–72° (isopropyl alcohol-benzene binary mixture), and no further separation of water occurs. Ten grams of precipitated calcium carbonate is then added to the mixture, and distillation is continued until the temperature rises to 80° in order to remove most of the benzene and excess isopropyl alcohol. The contents of the flask are then filtered into a modified Claisen flask and distilled under reduced pressure. Cuts are taken to 60°, 60–75°, 75–80°, and 80–100° at 32 mm. The fraction boiling at 75–80°/32 mm. is isopropyl lactate and weighs 130–160 g. By redistilling the high and low fractions an additional 30–60 g. is obtained, bringing the total yield to 160–180 g. (60–68 per cent of the theoretical amount). The ester may be redistilled at atmospheric pressure (with some loss due to decomposition) at 166–168°.