Enhancement of Ethanol-Acetic Acid Esterification Under Room Temperature and Non-catalytic Condition via Pulsed Electric Field Application

The effects of pulsed electric fields (PEF) on esterification between ethanol and acetic acid were investigated in this paper. An ethanol-acetic acid model system was used and all experiments were conducted under moderate temperature and non-catalytic condition. The effects of various reaction conditions such as PEF intensity, temperature, reaction time as well as the molar ratio between reactants (ethanol and acetic acid) on the esterification efficiency were examined. Results from gas chromatography/mass spectrum analysis showed that the esterification was significantly enhanced by PEF treatment under appropriate conditions. A kinetic model for such esterification was established. It was identified that the reaction order of the ethanol-acetic acid estirification under PEF treatment was 2.0. The activation energy (E (a)) decreased significantly when a pulsed electric field was applied. The relationship between the applied PEF strength (E) and the activation energy change (Delta E (a)) can be expressed as Delta E (a) = 0.849E -aEuro parts per thousand 0.515 (R (2) = 0.975).