Study on the esterification for ethylene glycol diacetate using supported ionic liquids as catalyst: Catalysts preparation, characterization, and reaction kinetics, process

Three supported ionic liquids (SILs) were synthesized and characterized. And the catalytic activity for the preparation of ethylene glycol diacetate (EGDA) via the esterification of ethylene glycol (EG) and acetic acid were studied. Among them, [Silica-Ps-im]HSO4 performed best and was chosen as catalyst for further study. The reaction kinetics experiments were carried out to correlate the parameters in a pseudo-homogeneous second order kinetic model. It has been found that there is good agreement between the calculated values and experimental data. In order to enhance the conversion of EG and yield of EGDA, a batch reactive distillation experimental apparatus was set up. A high conversion of EG of 100% and yield of EGDA of 99.14% were obtained under the optimal reaction conditions. The reusability test shows that [Silica-Ps-im]HSO4 catalyst has excellent utility for repeated use, the ease of its isolation from reaction mixture by simple filtration is beneficial from an economical point of view.