Esterification
Commodity acetates

 

Acetate esters with an alkyl group C₁ to C₄ are considered as commodity chemicals.

Ethyl acetate and n-butyl acetate are the major volume products. The biggest producers are BP Amoco and Celanese, followed by Eastman Chemical.

Acetate esters, except methyl acetate, are marketed primarily as solvents for surface coatings, inks and chemical processing. Methyl acetate is used in the United States as a chemical intermediate to produce acetic anhydride.

The traditional method of acetate production is by esterification of acetic acid with alcohol in the presence of sulfuric acid or sulfonic acid catalyst. However, utilization of sulphonic acid resin catalysts as the replacement for liquid acids is gaining importance.

 

Synthesis of n-butyl acetate by direct esterification

 

 

 

 

 

Recommended Catalyst   Amberlyst™ 131Wet Low crosslinking gel type catalyst. Amberlyst™ 15Wet Macroreticular type catalyst. Amberlyst™ 16Wet Macroreticular type catalyst (working temperature up to 140°C) Amberlyst™ 36Wet Macroreticular type catalyst, high density of acidic sites and high thermal stability (working temperature up to 150°C).   For sampling, pricing and availability of AMBERLYSTT catalysts please contact your Rohm and Haas sales representative.     Further Reading Z. P. Xu and K. T. Chuang "Effect of internal diffusion on heterogeneous catalytic esterification of acetic acid", Chemical engineering science, vol. 52 N°17 pp 3011-3017 (1997). B. Saha, S.P. Chopade, S.M. Mahajani "Recovery of dilute acetic acid through esterification in a reactive distillation column" Catalysis Today 60 (2000) 147-157. J. Hanika, Q. Smejkal, J. Kolena "2-Methylpropylacetate synthesis via catalytic distillation" Catalysis Today 66 (2001) 219-223. Back