[CONTRIBUTION FROM THE LABORATORY OF ORGANIC HEMISTRY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN] ... Ketene Acetals. XXI. The Dealcoholation of Orthoesters. Dimethylketene Dimethylacetal ... BY S. 11. MCELVAIN AND JAMES T. VENERABLE' ... Of all the methods now available for the prep- aration of ketene acetals, the direct dealcohola- tion of an orthoester would appear to be the most promising from the standpoint of general appli- cability. However, ...