The preparation of hydroxypivalaldehyde is effected by aldolizing isobutyraldehyde with formaldehyde and subsequently working up the resulting reaction effluent by distillation, wherein the reaction effluent is fed to a distillation column which is operated at a top pressure in the range from 0. System components such as applications create a request describing an action that needs to be checked against an appropriate security policy. The dispersion is coagulated to make a mush and a bearing filler is added to the dispersion prior to or after making the mush.