A mixture of 1 l. of benzene, 600 g. (529 cc., 6.1 moles) of 2-furylcarbinol (p. 276) (Note 1), 225 g. (2.7 moles) of fused powdered sodium acetate, and 650 g. (602 cc., 6.4 moles) of a good grade of acetic anhydride are placed in a 5-l. round-bottomed flask (Note 2) fitted with a mechanical stirrer and a reflux condenser provided with a calcium chloride tube. The flask is heated on a steam bath (Note 1) for four hours with stirring to prevent caking of the sodium acetate.

The reaction mixture is allowed to cool and is poured into 4 l. of cold water (Note 3). The upper layer is separated and allowed to stand for two hours over about 500 cc. of 5 per cent sodium carbonate solution with frequent shaking or mechanical stirring. This decomposes any excess of acetic anhydride. It is finally washed with about 3 l. of water. The benzene solution is distilled under ordinary pressure to remove the benzene (800–900 cc. is recovered). The 2-furylmethyl acetate is distilled under diminished pressure, b.p. 69–70°/7 mm. The yield is 750–800 g. (87–93 per cent of the theoretical amount) (Note 4).