Synthesis of ethyl acetate by esterification of acetic acid with ethanol over a heteropolyacid on montmorillonite K10

In present work, liquid phase esterification of acetic acid with ethanol over dodecatungestophosphoric acid (DTPA) supported on K10 montmorillonite was systematically studied and optimization of process parameters was carried out. The 20% m/m DTPA/K10 was found to be the optimum catalyst with 90% acetic acid conversion and 100% ethyl acetate selectivity. The study was also explored to see the feasibility of 20% m/m DTPA/K10 as a catalyst for the alkylation of acetic acid with other alcohols like methanol, iso-propanol and n-butanol. The 20% m/m DTPA/K10 has shown increased activity with the increase in carbon number, at the same alcohol reflux. The results are novel.