Entrainer-Based Reactive Distillation for the Synthesis of 2-Ethylhexyl Acetate

The production of 2-ethylhexyl acetate by esterification of 2-ethylhexanol with acetic acid in the presence of ion-exchange resin (Amberlyst-15) as catalyst is investigated in a reactive distillation (RD) column using toluene as an entrainer. Toluene helps in removing water efficiently from the reactive zone and maintains the reactive zone temperature below the thermal stability limit of the catalyst. Experiments as well as simulations show that quantitative conversion is achievable using the proposed entrainer-based reactive distillation process. The effect of different parameters on the conversion is studied through simulations. The proposed RD process is compared with the conventional process that uses homogeneous <i>p</i>-toluenesulfonic acid (<i>p</i>TSA) as a catalyst and it is shown that the proposed process is more energy efficient and less capital intensive

Esterification of Oleic Acid with Glycerol in the Presence of Supported Zinc Oxide as Catalyst

The work deals with development of a new catalyst ZnO/zeolite and its performance evaluation for the industrially important reaction of esterification of oleic acid with glycerol. It is a reaction that takes place in liquid–liquid mode due to partial miscibility of glycerol and oleic acid. The reaction kinetics and product distribution over the developed catalyst are investigated under different conditions. The effects of different parameters such as catalyst loading, mole ratio, and temperature are studied. Higher temperatures and simultaneous water removal increase the reaction rate significantly. It is interesting to note that the selectivity toward monoglyceride for a given conversion remains unaffected with respect to temperature and mole ratio. A simplified kinetic model, that considers mono- and diesterification as a combination of series and parallel irreversible reactions, is proposed to explain the kinetic data