Mechanism and kinetics of esterification of adipic acid and ethylene glycol by tetrabutyl titanate catalyst

Abstract

An eight-step mechanism of esterification reaction between adipic acid (AA) and ethylene glycol (EG) catalyzed by tetrabutyl titanate [Ti(OBu)4] was studied in detail. The kinetic data for the esterification reaction between AA and EG catalyzed by tetrabutyl titanate [Ti(OBu)4] were measured in the temperature range of 403 K-433 K. A second-order kinetic model was established, and the model parameters were obtained through an optimization procedure by minimizing the value differences between the simulated component concentrations in the reaction system with the experimental ones. The results demonstrate that the model is suitable for the esterification reaction between AA and EG catalyzed by tetrabutyl titanate [Ti(OBu)4]. Furthermore, the esterification reaction rate increases with the increase of reaction temperature, concentration of catalyst and the initial reactant ratio of EG to AA.