Hafidhotul Ilma (D500134005)

Mambaul Khoirot ( D500134007)

Esterification
Esterification is the reaction of free fatty acids
with alkyl alcohol to form fatty acid esters and
water as shown in the following chemical
reaction :
R COOH + R OH R COO R + H2O
It is an endothermic reaction. This process is
usually carried out in the presence of acid
catalysts such as H2SO4, H3PO4 and sulfonic acid.
 To shift the equilibrium of the esterification
towards the desired alkyl ester, one of the
reactant, usually the alcohol is fed in excess and
product water is continuously removed
respectively during the reaction. Generally
water is eliminated chemically, physically, or by
pervaporation.
Schematic representation of formation of monoethyl and
diethyl oxalate using MgAlPO4 catalyst
 What is dehydration reaction ?
dehydration reaction is usually defined as a reaction
involving the release of water from the reacting
molecule. Dehydration reaction is a subset of
elimination reactions. Because the hydroxyl group
(OH) is a poor leaving group, giving Brnsted acid
catalyst often helps protonation of hydroxyl groups,
making it a good leaving group,-OH2+ .
 Mechanism for the dehydration of ethanol to
ethylene.

Alcohols are themselves nucleophilic, so R-OH2+ can

react with ROH to produce ethers and water in
dehydration reaction, although this reaction is rarely
used except in the manufacture of diethyl ether.
 Conversion of alcohols into ether:
2 R-OH R-O-R + H2O

Conversion of alcohols into alkenes

R-CH2-CHOH-R R-CH = CH-R + H2O

Conversion of carboxylic acids into acid anhydride:

2 RCO2H (RCO) 2O + H2O
References
A.Q. Yakoob and S Bhatia, 2004, Esterification of Palmitic Acid with Methanol
in the presence of Macroporous ion Exchange Resin as Catalyst, IIUM
Engineering Journal, 5 (2).
Margaret Jevnik Gentles, Jane B. Moss, Hershel L. Herzog, and E. B. Hershberg,
1958, The Dienol-Benzene Rearrangement. Some Chemistry of 1,4-
Androstadiene-3,17-dione, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 80 (14): 37023705.
Denise F.; Der-Jong D.; Ho Shing W, 2012, Ethylene Formation by Catalytic
Dehydration of Ethanol with Industrial Considerations , Available online:
http//www.mdpi.com/journal/materials. Accessed on 4 Desember 2013.