a precipitate of lithium trifluoromethanesulfonate was cooled to 50 u00b0 60 u00b0 c and filtered through a pad of super cel u00ae filter material which was washed with additional toluene the combined filtrate and washings were stripped to dryness on a rotary evaporator to give polytetramethylene oxide diprimary amine as a pale yellow viscous oil which solidified to a cream colored solid on standing the yield was 97 5 g 65 titration with 0 1 n hcl gave a molecular weight of 11 000 a 75 gallon stainless steel reactor was charged with 90 7 kg dry tetrahydrofuran and cooled to 16 u00b0 c with agitation a solution of 1 5 kg trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride in 6 8 kg of cyclohexane was added rapidly with stirring transfer was completed with an additional 6 8 kg of cyclohexane the reaction exothermed to 32 u00b0 c and was then heated to 43 u00b0 c and held at this temperature for 1 2 hour the reaction was cooled to 18 u00b0 21 u00b0 c for an additional 2 5 hours the viscous clear solution was treated as rapidly as possible with 13 3 kg of a 20 solution of lithium bis trimethyl silyl amide in hexane the reaction exothermed to 27 u00b0 c and was allowed to stir for 1 2 hour toluene 113 4 kg and methanol 15 5 kg were charged to the reactor and the heating jacket set to 88 u00b0 c volatiles were allowed to distill over a two hour period the jacket temperature was then raised to 149 u00b0 c and the distillation continued until the contents reached 104 u00b0 c the solution was cooled to 32 u00b0 c 45 4 kg of heptane and 6.