Transesterification catalysts used

Stannous oxalate is used as an esterification and transesterification catalyst for the preparation of alkyds, esters, and polyesters (172,173). In esterification reactions, it limits the undeskable side reactions responsible for the degradation of esters at preparation temperatures. The U.S. Bureau of Mines conducted research on the use of stannous oxalate as a catalyst in the hydrogenation of coal (174) (see Coal). 

MetlylEsters. The addition product of two moles of TYZOR TPT and one mole of ethylene glycol, GLY—TI, can be used as a transesterification catalyst for the preparation of methyl esters. The low solubility of tetramethyl titanate has prevented the use of them as a catalyst for methyl ester preparation (488). 

KCN, 95% EtOH, 20° to reflux, 12 h, 93% yield.Potassium cyanide is a mild transesterification catalyst, suitable for acid- or base-sensitive compounds. When used with 1,2-diol acetates hydrolysis proceeds slowly until the first acetate is removed. ... 

The effect of incorporating p-hydroxybenzoic acid (I) into the structures of various unsaturated polyesters synthesised from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste depolymerised by glycolysis at three different diethylene glycol (DEG) ratios with Mn acetate as transesterification catalyst, was studied. Copolyesters of PET modified using various I mole ratios showed excellent mechanical and chemical properties because of their liquid crystalline behaviour. The oligoesters obtained from the twelve modified unsaturated polyesters (MUP) were reacted with I and maleic anhydride, with variation of the I ratio with a view to determining the effect on mechanical... 

The traditional catalyst used for esterification of acids to methyl esters is sulfuric acid. Homogeneous sulfuric acid catalysis has many downsides. When using sulfuric acid, much capital expense is required for Hastalloy and/or other specialty metals of construction. Homogeneous catalysis results in the contamination of the product by sulfur containing species. Therefore, neutralization and removal of acid is required to meet biodiesel specifications and to protect the downstream transesterification reactor. Inevitably, when using sulfuric acid, organic sulfur compounds will be produced. These products will cause the resultant biodiesel to fail specification tests. 

In lipase-catalyzed transesterifications, frequent use of enol esters as acyl agents has been seen [1, 5], since the leaving unsaturated alcohol irreversibly tautomerizes to an aldehyde or a ketone, leading to the desired product in high yields. The polymerization of divinyl adipate and 1,4-butanediol proceeded in the presence of lipase PF at 45 °C [39]. Under similar reaction conditions, adipic acid and diethyl adipate did not afford the polymeric materials, indicating the high polymerizability of bis(enol ester) toward lipase catalyst. 

Another advantage to the use of a thiol additive is that the abundance of free thiol groups in the reaction environment will prevent the oxidation of the cysteine thiol at the N-terminal of the other peptide. Without added thiol transesterification catalysts, disulfide formation resulting in dimerization of the Cys-peptide would be a dominant side reaction in aqueous, oxygenated buffer conditions. 

Nagahata, R., Sugiyama, J.-I., Goyal, M., Asai, M., Ueda, M. and Takeuchi, K., Solid-phase thermal polymerization of macrocyclic ethylene terephthalate dimer using various transesterification catalysts, J. Polym. Sci., Polym. Chem., 38, 3360 (2000). 

PBT is made by reacting 1,4-butanediol (BDO) with terephthalic acid (TPA) or dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) in the presence of a transesterification catalyst. A number of different commercial routes are used for producing the monomers, as discussed below. 

In the case of the esterification of the diacid, the reaction is self-catalyzed as the terephthalic acid acts as its own acid catalyst. The reverse reaction, the formation of TPA and EG from BHET is catalytic with regard to the usual metal oxides used to make PET, but is enhanced by either the presence of hydroxyl groups or protons. In the case of transesterification of dimethyl terephthalate with ethylene glycol, the reaction is catalytic, with a metal oxide needed to bring the reaction rate to commercial potential. The catalysts used to produce BHET are the same as those needed to depolymerize both the polymer to BHET and BHET to its simpler esters. Typically, titanium, manganese and zinc oxides are used for catalysts. 

Among the Bi(III) salts screened, Bi(OTf)3-xH20 was the most efficient catalyst, and the best solvent was found to be CH2Cl2. When the reaction was performed using ethyl acetate as the solvent, betulin-28-yl acetate was obtained as the major reaction product, which demonstrated that Bi(0Tf)3-xH20 is also an interesting transesterification catalyst (Scheme 38). 

Ionic liquids are generally regarded as highly stable, and the widely used dial-kylimidazolium ionic liquids are indeed thermostable up to 300 °C [4]. The propensity of the [BF4] and [PF6] anions to hydrolyze with liberation of HF [37], which deactivates many enzymes, has already been mentioned. The [TfO] and [ Tf2N] anions, in contrast, are hydrolytically stable. Dialkylimidazolium cations have a tendency to deprotonate at C-2, with ylide (heterocarbene) formation. Such ylides are strong nucleophiles and have been used as transesterification catalysts, for example [38]. These could cause enzyme deactivation as well as background transesterification when formed in small amounts from anhydrous ionic liquids and basic buffer salts, for example. 

The physical properties of most acids (esters) and alcohols allow the reaction to be carried out either in the liquid or in the vapour phase. In the liquid phase, the effects of solvents and of transport phenomena may play a more important role than in the vapour phase. On the other hand, the side reactions (mainly the ether and/or olefin formation from the alco- TABLE 20 Reactants and inorganic catalysts used in kinetic studies of esterification (transesterification) ... 

The reactants and inorganic catalysts used in kinetic studies of heterogeneous catalytic esterifications (transesterifications) are summarised in Table 20. As can be seen, no systematic comparative study with more than one catalyst (with the exception of paper [406]) has been performed by any one worker. The greatest attention was paid to silica gel [407— 411]. The reactants were usually low molecular weight acids and alcohols a typical pair of reactants is acetic acid—ethanol. Only in one study [126] was the structure of the reactants systematically varied in order to establish the effect on the reactivity. 

A similar method has been reported by Albertsson et al. [290], in which equimolar amounts of propane-1,3-diol and DEC were used, with stannous 2-ethylhexanoate as the transesterification catalyst, affording a yield of 53%. 

Transesterification was used for many decades for the technical syntheses of PET and PBT. The most widely used catalyst is Ti(OBu)4 (or other tetraalkox-... 

Alkali metal alkoxides such as KOH, NaOH, and CH3ONa are the most effective catalysts in alkali-catalyst transesterification. When using KOH, NaOH, and CH3ONa alkali-catalyst for FAME conversion, the active catalytic species were the methoxide anion (CH 0 ), formed by the reaction between methanol and hydroxide ions of KOH and NaOH. In addition, the methoxide anion was formed by dissolution of sodium methoxide. Sodium methoxide causes the formation of several byproducts, mainly sodium salts, that have to be treated as waste and additionally require high-quality oil (16). However, KOH has an advantage because it can be converted into KOH by reaction with phosphoric acid, which can serve as a fertilizer. Since KOH is more economical than sodium methoxide, it is the preferred choice for large-scale FAME production process. 

The concept of transesterifications was used for polymerization reactions by Hedrick and colleagues [76]. Various biodegradable polyesters were synthesized with the l,3-dimethylimidazol-2-ylidene carbene in THF at 25 °C. Polymers such as poly(e-caprolactone) were obtained with no need of organometallic catalysts, as in classical methods. Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) 97 was synthesized in the ionic liquid 98, which functions as the reaction medium and, at the same time, as a precatalyst that is activated (99) with KOt-Bu. Dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) 100 was condensed with an excess of ethylene glycol 101 to generate 102. The melt condensation of 102 was performed under vacuum using a heating ramp to 280 °C. 

Figure 14.4 Simplified flowsheet of a transesterification process using a solid base catalyst [2].

These materials, of course, contain no active hydrogen, so how does the reaction work The mechanism is complex and not fully understood but is thought to involve transesterification. The actual distribution of the ethoxymers depends on the catalyst used but... 

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