Esterification of alcohols with acetic acid over zeolites Hbeta, HY and HZSM5

Kinetic studies on the liquid phase esterification of C3 and C4 alcohols on acetic acid were carried out over zeolites Hbeta, HY and HZSM5. The aims of this study were to arrive at the reaction mechanism from the kinetic data and to investigate the effects of the type of alcohol and zeolite type on the reaction mechanism. Zeolite Hbeta was found to be the most active for this reaction. The acidity of zeolite determines the extent of the esterification reaction. The esterification reaction was found to follow the Eley-Rideal pathway. Acetic acid is activated by adsorption on the zeolite acid site, which then reacts with the alcohol in the bulk to form the corresponding acetate.