Acetic acid esterification reaction with alcohols

The recovery of acetic acid from its dilute aqueous solutions is a major problem in both petrochemical and fine chemical industries. Saha, et al. (2000) developed conventional methods of recovery of 30% acetic acid by reaction with n-butanol and isoamyl alcohol in a reactive distillation column using macroporous ion-exchange resin, Indion 30, as a catalyst bed, confined in stainless steel wire cages. They found that recovery of acetic acid was enhanced by reactive distillation compared to the batch operation. Hanika et al. (1999) studied the esterification butyl alcohol with acetic acid in a pilot plant using a reactive distillation column packed with commercial catalysts (KATPAK and CY). It was found that butyl acetate could be recovered in very high purity. This study had resulted in the development of a new technology for the manufacture of butylacetate. 

As far as the velocity and the extent of the conversion are concerned, the two processes are, however, altogether different. Whereas an acid is practically instantaneously and completely converted into a salt by an equivalent amount of a sufficiently strong base (neutralisation), a process on which, indeed, alkalimetry and acidimetry depend, it is not possible to obtain from equimolecular amounts of acid and alcohol the theoretical (calculated) amount of ester. A certain maximal quantity of ester is formed, but always falls short of the theoretical, and it is impossible, even by indefinitely extending the duration of the reaction, to make the unchanged acid and alcohol produce ester in excess of that maximum. If, for example, equimolecular amounts of acetic acid and alcohol are allowed to interact in a closed system, only two-thirds of each enter into reaction, and it is impossible to induce the remaining third of acetic acid to react with that of alcohol. The maximum yield of ester therefore amounts to only two-thirds, or 66-7 per cent, of the theoretical quantity. The quantitative difference in the course of the two reactions mentioned above depends on the fact that esterification is a so-called reversible reaction , i.e. one in which the reaction products represented on the right-hand side of the equation (ester and water) also interact in the opposite direction ... 

We next carried out selective esterification of two substrates in this reaction system. When a 1 1 mixture of lauric acid and acetic acid was esterified with dodecanol in the presence of DBSA under neat conditions at 40°C for 48 h, the laurate ester and the acetate ester were obtained in 63% and 35% yields, respectively (Table 13.7, entry 1). On the other hand, when the same reaction was conducted in water, the laurate ester was predominantly obtained in 81% yield, and the yield of the acetate was only 4% (entry 2). Similar selective esterification of lauric acid over acetic acid was also observed in the reaction of another alcohol (entry 4), Furthermore, even cyclohex-anecarboxylic acid, which is an a-disubstituted acid, was preferentially esterified in the presence of acetic acid (entries 5 and 6). These selectivities are attributed to the hydrophobic nature of lauric acid and cyclohexanecarboxylic acid as well as to the high hydrophilicity of acetic acid. These unique selectivities became possible by using water as a solvent. Selective esterification based on the difference in hydrophobicity was also attained in the reaction of two alcohols, one of which is hydrophobic and the other water-soluble. 

Finally, the esterification reaction with styrallyl alcohol and acetic acid was carried out under natural reaction conditions using esterification catalysts such as citric acid or by means of bioprocess reactions using commercial esterforming enzymes (5). The catalytic conversion of styrallyl alcohol to styrallyl acetate did not change the stereoisomer ratio. The resulting stereoisomeric mixture of styrallyl acetate was recovered and purified by solvent extraction followed by fractional distillation. 

Acid catalysed dehydration of diacetone alcohol to form mesityl oxide followed by selective hydrogenation Acid catalysed esterification of relevant alcohol (methanol, ethanol, propanols, butanols) with acetic acid Tischenko reaction via acetaldehyde is also used for ethyl acetate... 

Several methyl esters were synthesized by the treatment of pyridine acetic adds with diazomethane. A variety of C-21 steroidal alco-hols " and the following alcohols have been employed in esterification reactions with pyridine side-chain acids. ... 

One of the first examples of the grafting to approach was published by Sun et al. in 2001 [32]. In this work carboxylic acid groups on the nanotube surface were converted into acyl chlorides by refluxing the samples in thionyl chloride. Then the acid chloride functionalized carbon nanotubes were reacted with hydroxyl groups of dendritic PEG polymers via esterification reactions. Similarly, many polymers terminated with amino or hydroxyl moieties have been used in amidation and esterification reactions with acid chloride modified NTs poly(propionylethylenimine-co-ethylenimine) (PPEI-EI) [33], poly(styrene-co-aminomethylstyrene) (PSN) [34], poly-(amic acid) containing bithiazole rings [35], monoamine-terminated poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) [36], poly(styrene-co-hydroxymethylstyrene) (PSA) [37], poly(styrene-co-p-[4-(4 -vinylphenyl)-3-oxabutanol]) (PSV) [38], poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) [39], poly(vinyl acetate-co-vinyl alcohol) (PVA-VA) [40] or poly[3-(2-hydroxyethyl)-2,5-thienylene] (PHET) [41]. 

One of the pervasive problems in asymmetric synthesis has been the development of stereoselective acetate ester aldol reactions. Although a number of chiral auxiliaries perform superbly well in diastereoselective propionate aldol additions, these have, with rare exceptions, been unsuccessful in the corresponding additions of unsubstituted acetate-derived enolates [19, 63, 64). Braun s disclosure of a stereoselective acetate aldol addition reaction with 103 was an important milestone in the development of the field (Scheme 4.11) [63, 65]. The diol auxiliary can easily be prepared from mandelic acid esterification of the secondary alcohol is obsei ved, without interference from the tertiary counterpart. Its use has been showcased in a number of syntheses [53]. The high yield and diastereoselectivity generally obtained with 103 were highlighted by investigators at Merck in the construction of the chiral lactone fragment that is common in a number of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, such as compactin (105) [66]. 

Esterification is one of the most important reactions of fatty acids (25). Several types of esters are produced including those resulting from reaction with monohydric alcohols, polyhydric alcohols, ethylene or propylene oxide, and acetjiene or vinyl acetate. The principal monohydric alcohols used are methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, and isobutyl alcohols (26) (see Esterification Esters, organic). 

Continuous esterification of acetic acid in an excess of -butyl alcohol with sulfuric acid catalyst using a four-plate single bubblecap column with reboiler has been studied (55). The rate constant and the theoretical extent of reaction were calculated for each plate, based on plate composition and on the total incoming material to the plate. Good agreement with the analytical data was obtained. 

Normal Fischer esterification of tertiary alcohols is unsatisfactory because the acid catalyst required causes dehydration or rearrangement of the tertiary substrate. Moreover, reactions with acid chlorides or anhydrides are also of limited value for similar reasons. However, treatment of acetic anhydride with calcium carbide (or calcium hydride) followed by addition of the dry tertiary alcohol gives the desired acetate in good yield. 

Substitution as a preceding reaction. In addition to the well known determination of primary and secondary alcohols via esterification with acetic anhydride in pyridine at about 98° C, esterification is possible at room temperature in ethyl acetate with perchloric acid117 or 2,4-dinitrobenzenesulphonic acid118 as a catalyst. However, as tertiary alcohols preferably split off their hydroxy group, they can be adequately determined by OH-substitution with HBr in glacial acetic acid according to... 

Such esterifications and acetal formations are achieved through enzyme catalyses. However, such reactions are relatively rare in aqueous conditions chemically. This is because the reversed reactions, hydrolysis, are much more favorable entropically. Kobayashi and co-workers found that the same surfactant (DBSA) that can catalyze the ether formation in water (5.2 above) can also catalyze the esterification and acetal formations reactions in water.52 Thus, various alkanecarboxylic acids can be converted to the esters with alcohols under the DBSA-catalyzed conditions in water (Eq. 5.6). Carboxylic acid with a longer alkyl chain afforded the corresponding ester better than one with a shorter chain at equilibrium. Selective esterification between two carboxylic acids with different alkyl chain lengths is therefore possible. 

Esterification of stearic acid and acetic acid with propanol and butanol in the presence of Fe2(S04)3/KSF montmorillonite [37]. The rate enhancement observed (1.5-2.5 times) was ascribed to the higher temperature of the catalyst bed (calculated to be 9-18 K above the bulk temperature). Reaction conditions batch (no stirring) and a stirred single-mode tank reactor, catalyst particle size 5 mm, 10-fold excess of alcohol. 

Chau and Terry [146] reported the formation of penta-fluorobenzyl derivatives of ten herbicidal acids including 4-chloro-2-methyl-phenoxy acetic acid [145]. They found that 5h was an optimum reaction time at room temperature with pentafluorobenzyl bromide in the presence of potassium carbonate solution. Agemian and Chau [147] studied the residue analysis of 4-chloro-2-methyl phenoxy acetic acid and 4-chloro-2-methyl phenoxy butyric acid from water samples by making the pentafluorobenzyl derivatives. Bromination [148], nitrification [149] and esterification with halogenated alcohol [145] have also been used to study the residue analysis of 4-chloro-2-methyl phenoxy acetic acid and 4-chloro-2-methyl phenoxybutyric acid. Recently pentafluorobenzyl derivatives of phenols and carboxylic acids were prepared for detection by electron capture at very low levels [150, 151]. Pentafluorobenzyl bromide has also been used for the analytical determination of organophosphorus pesticides [152],... 

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