KINETICS OF ESTERIFICATION OF ACETIC ACID WITH 2-ETHYLHEXANOL IN THE PRESENCE OF AMBERLYST 36

The kinetics of esterification of acetic acid with 2-ethylhexanol catalyzed by Amberlyst 36 was studied in a stirred batch reactor. The equilibrium constant, K c , was found to be 81 and it is independent of temperature within the range of 333 to 363 K. The uncatalyzed reaction was proved to follow a second-order reversible reaction model. In the presence of Amberlyst 36, experimental data well fitted with a pseudo-homogeneous (PH) model.