Synthesis of Butyl Acetate in a Membrane Reactor in a Flow-Through Mode

A composite catalytic membrane (CCM), as a heterogeneous catalyst, was prepared from sulfonated polyethersulfone (SPES) and polyethersulfone (PES) impregnating polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) non-woven fabric by solvent evaporation method, which was employed to produce butyl acetate from continuous esterification of acetic acid with n-butyl alcohol in a flowthrough mode. The pervaporation-assisted esterification was also carried out to promote forward reaction of the esterification through online removing the water produced. The results showed that the n-butyl alcohol conversion was over 95.0% at the reaction temperature of 363 K, the initial acetic acid/n-butyl alcohol molar ratio of 4:1 and the residence time of 4,000 s in single flowthrough mode. In the pervaporation-assisted esterification, an obvious enhancement in conversion was achieved compared with the esterification without pervaporation. And the CCMs presented a good catalytic activity and stability.