Optimization of production conditions of n-butyl acetate over NaY supported organophosphonic acid catalyst using response surface methodology

n-Butyl acetate is a common industrial product that was widely used in the manufacture of lacquer, leather, flavoring extract, pharmaceuticals and safety glasses. In this work, the possibility of using NaY molecular sieve supported organophosphonic acid (PA/NaY) in the esterification reaction of n-butyl acetate production has been investigated. 1-Hydroxyethylidenediphosphonic acid was chosen as the catalytic species on the basis of theoretic studies with the DFT/B3LYP method. Furthermore, response surface methodology was used to determine the relevant optimum synthesis conditions, various reaction parameters including the amounts of catalyst, reaction time and molar ratio of n-butanol to acid were investigated. The optimal conditions were obtained at 1.8 molar ratio of n-butanol to acid using 1.5 g catalyst at 135 °C for 4.5 h. Under these conditions, the reaction conversion ratio could reach 93.8 ± 0.8%, and the predicted values for optimum process conditions were in good agreement with experimental data.