Rhea Ahuja
Independent Researcher
India
Abstract
This study investigates the kinetics of acid-catalyzed esterification of acetic acid with ethanol in a well-mixed batch reactor under isothermal conditions. Rate expressions were derived using the pseudo-homogeneous reversible model. Experiments were conducted at 303 K, 313 K, and 323 K with sulfuric acid catalyst concentrations of 0.5 %, 1.0 %, and 1.5 % (w/w). Concentration vs. time data were collected by sampling at regular intervals and analyzed by gas chromatography. Kinetic parameters—including forward and backward rate constants—were estimated via nonlinear regression. A statistical analysis table summarizes parameter estimates and goodness-of-fit metrics. A MATLAB-based simulation validated the model against experimental data, showing less than 5 % deviation. Activation energies were determined from Arrhenius plots. The results confirm that the pseudo-homogeneous reversible model adequately describes the reaction within the studied range, offering design-relevant kinetic constants for scale-up of ester production processes. Ten key references up to 2015 are provided.
Keywords
Esterification, Pseudo-homogeneous kinetics, Batch reactor, Sulfuric acid catalyst, Activation energy
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