METHOD FOR PRODUCING ESTERS OF MULTIBASIC ACIDS

The invention relates to a method for producing esters of an acid component chosen from the multibasic C4-C10-carboxylic acids and an alcohol component chosen from C3-C12-alkanols or -alkanediols whose alkyl chain can be interrupted by 1 to 3 oxygen atoms. Sad method comprises the following steps: a) a mixture consisting essentially of the acid component or an anhydride thereof and the alcohol component is heated to boiling in a reaction zone in the presence of an esterification catalyst; b) the vapours containing alcohol and water are separated into a fragment that is rich in alcohol and a fragment that is rich in water by rectification; and c) the alcohol-rich fraction is fed back into the reaction zone, while the water-rich fraction is extracted from the process. The inventive method is simple to carry out and allows the rapid adjustment of an essentially quantitative conversion.