Transesterification of Methyl Acetate and n-Butanol Catalyzed by Amberlyst 15

The reaction kinetics and chemical equilibrium of liquid-phase transesterification of methyl acetate and n-butanol to n-butyl acetate and methanol in the temperature range of 313.15 to 330.15 K were investigated. The reaction has been catalyzed by the acidic ionexchange resin, Amberlyst 15. The chemical equilibrium constant obtained from kinetic experiments is in qualitative agreement with the one calculated from standard thermodynamic properties. The influence of the catalyst loading, initial reactant molar ratio, and temperature on the kinetics was studied. Two kinetic models, pseudohomogeneous (PH) and Langmuir-Hinshelwood (LH), were used to describe the reaction rate. Independent binary liquid sorption experiments were used to fit the adsorption constants needed for the LH model. The results of the more simple pseudohomogeneous model provide similar good results as the LH model.