Esterification

Abstract

This year's novelty is the appearance on the cover of Chemical and Engineering News of a chemist for work on esterification, E. F. Izard, Schoelikopf medal ist. The year brings many articles and a host of patents on the various ways of making esters, so many that only a part can be mentioned and those briefly. As last year, the chief attention has been given to kinetics.A comprehensive correlation of such data is needed. Catalysts for high temperature, 200°C. and above, continue to be mentioned but information as to their performance is still lacking. Interest continues in silicic, phosphoric, and polymeric linear esters. THE formation of oxonium complexes as a part of the mechanism of esterification has been considered (258). Experiments indicate that esters of p-toluene sulfonic acid are not intermediates when this acid is an esterification catalyst (204). The effect of ultrasonic irradiation has been investigated ( 105).The effects of branching of the chain of an aliphatic acid on its esterification velocity has been investigated further (150). Unsaturation in the alcohol affects the saponification rates of acetates. The influence of the ethynyl group is greater than that of the vinyl which exceeds that of the ethyl (186). The esters of ß, y-unsaturated acids in a mixture can be saponified without touching those of a, /3-unsaturated acids (273). INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRYVol. 45, No. 9 COURTESY HERCULES POWER CO.