Synthesis of n-Butyl Acetate by Silica Loaded Cerous Sulfate Catalyst

摘要

Silica was used, as a catalyst carrier, to load cerous sulfate for catalyzing the synthesis of n- butyl acetate. The main purpose of this research was to explore the feasibility of silica in improving the decentrality and activity of the catalyst. The effects of molar ratio of butyl alcohol to acetic acid, the cerous sulfate loadings and the reaction time on the conversion of acetic acid were studied by single factor experiment method and orthogonal experiment method respectively. The refractive index (n<'20><'D>) and molecular structure of the prepared n-butyl acetate were measured by Abbe Raefractometer and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscope, respectively. The comparisons of the silica loaded and unloaded catalysts for catalyzing the synthesis of n-butyl acetate were made. The results showed that the suitable conditions for synthesizing n-butyl acetate were: molar ratio of butyl alcohol to acetic acid of 1.4:1, use level of loaded cerous sulfate of 0.30g and reaction time of 50min, respectively. The maximum conversion of acetic acid for the silica loaded catalyst reached 98.62% which was 12.32% and 16.43% higher than those for the unloaded catalysts reported in literatures, but the use level of cerous sulfate for the former was much less than those for the latters under similar optimal technical conditions. The silica was proved to be a good catalyst carrier for enhancing decentrality and activity of the catalyst and increasing the conversion of acetic acid. The repentance of the silica loaded cerous sulfate was also investigated in the experiment.