Kinetic Studies on Saponification of Ethyl Acetate Using an Innovative Conductivity-Monitoring Instrument with a Pulsating Sensor

An innovative conductometric measurement technique using a nonconventional but high-performance (high-precision, high-resolution, rapid response features for online graphic display) in house-built pulsating conductivity monitoring instrument has been deployed to study the kinetic behavior during the reaction of ethyl acetate and NaOH. A laboratory-made constant temperature reaction bath with the facility of continuous stirring of solution for homogeneous mixing was used to carry out experiments at desired solution temperatures. Rate constants of the saponification reaction in the temperature range at various temperatures (30-55 degrees C) were determined, and the results were compared with the reported values. Although the reported data exhibit wide scatter, our data are in agreement with some of the literature data. From these data, thermodynamic parameters such as activation energy, activation enthalpy, activation entropy, and activation free energy have been evaluated. With the introduction of this novel conductometric measurement technique, the determination of rate constants at various solution temperatures becomes much simpler and faster. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 43: 648-656, 2011