Kinetic Study of Liquid-Phase Esterification with Sulfonic Acid Cation-Exchange Resin of the Macroreticular Type. I. Heterogeneous–Pseudohomogeneous Resin Catalysis

The rates of the esterification of octanoic acid with 1-butanol catalyzed by macroreticular sulfonated ion-exchange resin were measured by the use of a batch reactor. The effects on the rate were investigated for variations in the amount of the catalyst, the temperature, and the reactant alcohol concentrations as well as those of water and butyl octanoate. From these data, it is considered that alcohol and water solvate the matrix-bound sulfo groups, and so this esterification system consists of a heterogeneous reaction catalyzed by un-ionized sulfo groups and a pseudo-homogeneous reaction catalyzed by solvated protons; in other words, catalysis by sulfonic acid resin is both heterogeneous and pseudo-homogeneous in liquid-phase esterification.