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 mont-morillonite 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.