Esterification of propanoic acid in the presence of a homogeneous catalyst

Abstract

Esters are organic compounds that are widely used even on an industrial scale, so their production has been extensively investigated. The aim of this work is to carry out the optimization process of esterification of propionic acid with lower monohydric alcohols. The influence of the amount of catalyst (H2SO4), the size and structure of the alcohol, the influence of the a-substituent, the molar acid/alcohol ratio and temperature on the esterification process were investigated. The descending order of reactivity tested alcohol is: 1-butanol> 1-propanol> ethanol> 2-propanol. As the acid/alcohol molar ratio increases, the rate and yield of the esterification reaction increase. The maximum yield of n-propyl propanoate in our experiments was 96.9%, achieved at a molar ratio of propanoic acid/1-propanol/catalyst 1/10/0.20 and a temperature of 65°C for 210 minutes of reaction.

Keywords

• esters
• esterification
• propanoic acid
• propyl propanoate