VERFAHREN UND EINRICHTUNG ZUM HERSTELLEN VON BUTYLACETAT UND ISOBUTYLACETAT

The invention relates to an apparatus for the production of butylacetate by esterification of acetic acid with butanol in the presence of a solid acidic catalyst in which distillatory separation of components runs simultaneously with esterification. Thus, acetic acid and butanol are introduced in defined amounts and in the molar ratio 1:1 to 1:10 into a system, in which the reaction and the distillatory separation proceeds in three zones. The reaction together with distillatory separation of the components with different boiling points run in the reaction zone, while only distillation takes place in lower and upper separation zones. A volatile mixture is separated in the upper separation zone, from which, after being cooled at 5 to 80° C., water and organic phases are separated, the latest being refluxed into the system. The ratio of the feed amount to the organic phase reflux amount is 1:1 to 1:20, the reflux amount representing 60 to 100% of the whole amount of the organic phase. Butylacetate is separated as a high boiling bottoms product. The invention relates also to the production of isobutylacetate by esterification of acetic acid with isobutyl alcohol in the presence of a solid acidic catalyst in which separation of components by distillation runs simultaneously with esterification.