Recipe for Synthetic Vitamin E

Let’s look at how synthetic vitamin E is made in a chemical plant.

Step one: The chlorination of myrcene with liquid chlorine in boiling pentane
(gasoline) gives choromyrcene

Step two: Hydrochlorination with copper chloride and hydrochloric acid yields a
mixture of geranyl/neryl chloride

Step three: The reductive coupling of these products by means of Mg and copper chloride affords beta-springene, which is condensed with 2,3,6-
trimethylhydroquinone by means of cyclooctadienyl rhodium chloride dimer and
potassium carbonate in boiling toluene (paint thinner) to provide the Adjunct.

Step four: Cyclization of the adjunct by means of methyl alumium chloride in
boiling hexane furnishes synthetic tocotrienol, which is finally hydrogenated using a palladium metal catalyst in ethanol to give the target racemic D,L alpha
tocopherol (aka. synthetic vitamin E) Only one isomer produced
Many possible impurities from reactants or side reactions

Links to information;
http://www.lookchem.com/Chempedia/Chemical-Technology/Organic-Chemical-Technology/17818.html
http://www.drugfuture.com/synth/syndata.aspx?ID=70420