The general procedure for the synthesis of tert-butyl 4'-bromomethylbiphenyl-2-carboxylate from tert-butyl 4'-methyl-[1,1'-biphenyl]-2-carboxylate was as follows: in a 1200-liter enameled stirring apparatus, 268.0 kg of tert-butyl 4'-methyl-[1,1'-biphenyl]-2-carboxylate, 157.3 kg of N-bromosuccinimide (DDH), 1.6 kg of azo diisobutyronitrile (AIBN), and 572 liters of methyl acetate. The mixture was heated to 60 °C until the solution became almost colorless. Subsequently, 458 liters of solvent were distilled at atmospheric pressure, followed by the addition of 530 liters of isopropanol, 148 liters of water and 16.4 kg of anhydrous sodium acetate. The resulting mixture was cooled to 15 °C to 25 °C and stirring was continued for 1 hour. The precipitated product was separated by centrifugation, washed with a mixture of 530 liters of acetone and 148 liters of water and finally dried. 295 kg of tert-butyl 4'-bromomethylbiphenyl-2-carboxylate was obtained in a yield of 85% of the theoretical value.
