The decomposition of some alkyl acetates

The decomposition at high temperatures over glass‐wool of the acetic acid esters of butanol‐1, butanol‐2, 2‐methylpropanol‐1, 2‐methylpropanol‐2, 2‐methylbutanol‐1, 3‐methylbutanol‐1 and hexadecanol‐1 to acetic acid and the corresponding alkene was investigated. It was found that glass‐wool is not the active catalyst for the reaction. In some cases a small amount of isomerism of the double bond could be detected. Some observations on the reaction mechanism are included.