Catalytic application of Al-MCM-41 in the esterication

of acetic acid with various alcohols

B. Rabindran Jermy, A. Pandurangan
*
Department of Chemistry, Anna University, Guindy, Chennai 600025, India
Received 1 October 2004; received in revised form 9 March 2005; accepted 25 March 2005
Available online 6 June 2005
Abstract
Mesoporous Al-MCM-41molecular sieves infour Si/Al ratios: 25, 50, 75and 100, were synthesised under hydrothermal condition. Theywere
characterized using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), FT-IR, BETand thermogravimetricdifferential thermal analysis (TGADTA). The XRD
spectra showed that the materials were of hexagonal mesoporous structure. The FT-IRspectra revealed the order of the hydrophobic character of
the catalyst materials when one compared the broad envelopes due to the OHstretching of water in the higher energy region. The acidity of the
catalyst was measured by FT-IR using pyridine as the diagnostic base. The BET surface area measurements indicated the surface areas between
900 and1000 m
2
g
1
andpore diameters around 26 A

units. The catalytic activity of the materials was tested for the vapour phase esterication of
acetic acid withn-butyl alcohol (NBA), isobutyl alcohol (IBA) and tertiarybutyl alcohol (TBA) under autogeneous condition at 100, 150, 175 and
200 8C. NBAconversion was found to be higher than IBAand TBA. The hydrophobic properties of catalyst, alcohols and the stearic properties of
alcohols were suggestedtoplayimportant roles inthe esterication. Al-MCM-41(25) for NBA, Al-MCM-41(100) for IBAandTBAwas foundto
be more active. The mechanism was EleyRideal type. The reaction was also studied over commercially available heteropolyacids and zeolites
(HM, Hb, HZandZSM-5). Except for zeolites, other catalysts were foundtohave nearlyidentical activitytothat of Al-MCM-41. Zeolites showed
less activity for NBAand TBAbut comparable activity to IBA. The requirement of Bronsted acid sites for the reaction was clearly established by
running the reaction in the absence of catalyst. Occurrence of the reaction mainly within the pores was conrmed by running the reaction over the
as-prepared catalyst that provides less conversion than the calcined material.
# 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Comparison; Esterication; Al-MCM-41; Acetic acid; n-Butyl alcohol; Isobutyl alcohol; Tertiary butyl alcohol
1. Introduction
Conventional methods of the esterication reaction
involve use of either mineral acids such as sulphuric acid
or tin octate. Mineral acids are corrosive and virulent, so they
need to be neutralized after the completion of the reaction. In
the case of metal containing Lewis acid catalysts, the metal
needs to be removed carefully after the reaction. This can be
done, for instance, by adsorption on bleaching earth; such a
process, however, leads to the formation of large amounts of
waste [1]. Other heterogeneous catalysts reported in the
literature for esterication reactioninclude ionexchange resin
[2], H-ZSM-5 [3], zeolites-Y [4], niobic acid [5], sulphated
oxides [6], and heterpoly acids. Supported heterpoly acids
(HPAs) [7] have been proved to be nearly comparable in their
efciency for a series of acid-catalyzed reactions to sulphuric
acid in liquid phase [8]. Unfortunately, as they are highly
soluble in polar media, it is often difcult to separate them
from the reaction products, which is problematic in industrial
processes [8]. So the challenge was to replace them by solid
acid catalysts such as zeolites or resins, which are easier to
separate fromthe products and less toxic. But until now, these
solid-acid catalysts have had little practical use. For instance,
although zeolite catalysts have high activity, reactions always
give a variety of undesired by-products due to the higher
reaction temperature [9].
Further, esterication is a reversible reaction catalyzed by
an acid environment and is usually performed in the liquid
phase, which leads to the elimination of water as a by-
www.elsevier.com/locate/apcata
Applied Catalysis A: General 288 (2005) 2533
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 44 22442942; fax: +91 44 22200660.
E-mail address: pandurangan_a@yahoo.com (A. Pandurangan).
0926-860X/$ see front matter # 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.apcata.2005.03.047
product, thereby requiring azeotropic distillation to remove
the water formed during the reaction, or else leading to the
deactivation of the catalyst [10]. Due to this, the equilibrium
for the stoichiometric mixture reached in the liquid phase
was about 6668% [11] of conversion for straight-chain
saturated alcohol; complete conversion can only be achieved
by elimination of the water formed. But the same reaction is
thermodynamically favourable when performed in the
vapour phase due to the higher values of equilibrium
constants in comparison with those of the liquid phase
reaction [12]. Hence, in order to increase the conversion, the
reaction was performed in the vapour phase with the use of
mesoporous catalyst, Al-MCM-41, which was discovered by
Mobils central research laboratory in 1992 [13,14]. Such
catalysts can easily be separated from the product and
reactants by ltration and can also be regenerated with ease
[15]. The activity values presented here are far better than
reported by Michael Verhoef et al. [7], who found a very low
activity for MCM-41 (Si/Al = 16) in terms of reactant
conversion and product selectivity. In the present study we
have found excellent catalytic activity of H-MCM-41 for the
esterication of acetic acid with NBA, IBA and TBA under
autogeneous pressure in the batch process.
2. Experimental
2.1. Materials
The syntheses of Al-MCM-41 materials were carried out
by a hydrothermal method using sodium metasilicate
(Na
2
SiO
3
5H
2
O), aluminum sulfate (Al
2
SO
4
18H
2
O), cetyl-
trimethylammonium bromide (C
16
H
33
(CH
3
)
2
N
+
Br

), and
sulfuric acid (H
2
SO
4
). The AR grade chemicals used were
purchased from Aldrich & Co., USA.
2.2. Commercial catalytic materials
HM (Si/Al = 12, PQ), Hb (Si/Al = 8, PQ), HY (Si/Al = 4,
PQ), H-ZSM-5 (Si/Al = 15, PQ), H
3
PW
12
O
40
nH
2
O,
H
3
PMo
12
O
40
nH
2
O, H
4
SiW
12
O
40
nH
2
O were obtained from
commercial sources.
2.3. Synthesis of Al-MCM-41
The Al-MCM-41 with various Si/Al ratios: 25, 50, 75
and 100, were synthesised according to the previous report
[13,16] using a hydrothermal method with the gel composi-
tion of SiO
2
:xAl
2
O
3
:0.2CTAB:0.89H
2
SO
4
:120H
2
O, sodium
meta silicate was used as the silicon source, cetyltrimethy-
lammonium bromide as the structure directing agent and
aluminium sulphate as the aluminium source. Sodium meta
silicate (21.21 g) was dissolved in 80 ml of water and the
mixture was stirred for half an hour. Then the required
quantity of aluminiumsulphate, which was dissolved in 15 ml
of water, was added and this was stirred for 1 h. Then 40 ml of
4N sulphuric acid was added drop by drop until the gel
formed. The stirring was continued for 2 h. Exactly 7.28 g of
cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), dissolved in
25 ml of water, was added and stirring was continued for a
further 2 h. After that, the gel was transferred to an autoclave
that was kept in a hot air oven at 145 8C for 36 h. Then the
product obtained was ltered, washed several times with
double distilled water, anddriedat 80 8Cin an air oven for 2 h.
Thenthe samplewas calcinedina mufe furnace at 550 8Cfor
6 h to remove the template. The sample calcined by this
procedure was ion exchanged repeatedly with one molar
solutionammoniumnitrate andthen ltered, dried, calcinedat
550 8C for 12 h.
2.4. Catalytic runs
Esterication reactions were carried out under batch
reaction conditions using an autoclave in the temperature
range of 100200 8C, in 15 ml stainless steel batch reactors
under autogeneous pressure conditions. A typical reaction
mixture in the reactor contained acetic acid (0.1 mol),
alcohol (0.1 mol) and a freshly activated catalyst (0.1 g).
Activation of the catalyst was done by calcinations at 500 8C
in air for 5 h. The autoclave temperature was then slowly
raised to 100, 125, 150, 175 and 200 8C as required and
maintained at the desired temperature during the specied
reaction periods. The effect of the reaction period, the molar
ratios of the reactants, and the amounts of catalyst required
on various alcohol conversions and product selectivity were
studied.
2.5. Analysis
The reaction mixture was collected from the autoclave
after it had been cooled to room temperature. This solution
was removed from the catalyst by ltration. The reaction
mixture was analysed by an Schimadzu gas chromatograph
GC-17A using a DB-5 capillary column with an FID
detector. Comparing the retention values of the known
standards with those of the products conrmed the latter.
The product analysed by GC revealed the formation of n-
butyl acetate, isobutyl acetate and tertiary butyl acetate with
100% selectivity. Some small peaks corresponding to the
dehydrated products of alcohols were also observed. The
percentage conversion and selectivity calculation are based
on the GC analysis. The selectivity to a product is expressed
as the percentage weight of the product alkyl acetate divided
by sum of the weight percentage of the entire product.
%Conversion
initial wt:%final wt:%
initial wt:%
100
%Product selectivity

wt:% of product
sum of the wt:% values of all products
100
B.R. Jermy, A. Pandurangan / Applied Catalysis A: General 288 (2005) 2533 26
2.6. Characterisation
Mesoporous materials in general are characterized by a
variety of techniques including XRD (Rigaku, D-Max/111-
VC model) using nickel ltered Cu Ka radiation
l = 1.5406 A

. Surface area, pore volume and pore size

distribution were measured by nitrogen adsorption at 77 K
using an ASAP-2010 porosimeter from Micromeritics
Corporation, GA. The samples were degassed at 623 K
and 10
5
Torr overnight prior to the adsorption experiments.
The mesopore volume was estimated from the amount of
nitrogen adsorbed at a relative pressure of 0.5 by assuming
that all the mesopores were lled with condensed nitrogen in
the normal liquid state. Pore size distribution was estimated
using the Barrett, Joyner and Halenda (BJH) algorithm
(ASAP-2010) available as built-in software from Micro-
meritics. Mid-infrared spectra of MCM-41 molecular sieves
were recorded on a Nicolet (Avatar 360) instrument using a
KBr pellet technique. About 4 mg of the sample was ground
with 200 mg of spectral grade KBr to form a mixture, which
was then made into a pellet using a hydraulic press. This
pellet was used for recording the infrared spectra in the
range 4000400 cm
1
. Thermal analysis was carried out in
Mettler TA3001 analyser. Zeolites used in this study were of
commercial origin.
2.7. Acidity measurements
The acidity of Al-MCM-41 was analysed by pyridine
adsorption followed by FT-IR spectroscopy. Finely ground
catalyst sample (1015) was pressed for 2 min at
10 Torr cm
2
pressure under vacuum) into a self-supporting
wafer. The wafers were calcined under vacuum
(133.322 10
3
N m
2
) at 500 8C for 2 h, followed by
exposure to pyridine vapour at ambient temperature for 1 h
to allow the pyridine to permeate the samples. Each thin
wafer was placed in the FT-IR cell and the spectrum was
recorded in absorbance mode on a Nicolet 800 (AVATAR)
FT-IR spectrometer, fully controlled by the OMNIC
software, within an all-glass high-vacuum system. The
difference between the spectra of pyridine adsorbed on the
samples and that of the reference was obtained by
subtraction.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Characterization of Al-MCM-41
3.1.1. XRD
The diffraction patterns are shown in Fig. 1 and the data
are presented in Table 1. The patterns illustrate the
characteristics of a typical mesoporous MCM-41 structure.
As can be seen from the diffraction patterns, the d
100
reections of calcined Al-MCM-41 have been shifted to
higher values compared to its as-synthesised analogue.
This is in agreement with Borade and Cleareld [17],
suggesting the framework substitution of alumina in MCM-
41 structure.
During calcinations at 550 8C, the d values are generally
shifted towards the lower values or higher 2u values, though
to a smaller extent, implying shrinkage in the unit cell as a
result of the removal of the surfactant molecules used as
templates [18].
3.1.2. Nitrogen adsorption isotherms
BET surface area, pore size and pore volume of calcined
materials are presented in Table 2. Adsorption and
desorption isotherms and pore size distribution for calcined
materials (BJH method) are shown in Figs. 2 and 3; the data
coincide with the reported values [19,20]. It can be seen that
B.R. Jermy, A. Pandurangan / Applied Catalysis A: General 288 (2005) 2533 27
Fig. 1. X-ray diffraction patterns of calcined Al-MCM-41: (a) Al-MCM-41
(25); (b) Al-MCM-41 (50); (c) Al-MCM-41 (75); and (d) Al-MCM-41
(100).
Table 1
Textural properties of the calcined catalysts (Si/Al = 25, 50, 75 and 100)
Catalysts Si/Al Calcined
d
100
(A

) Unit cell a
0
(nm)
Al-MCM-41 (25) 25 35.38 4.09
Al-MCM-41 (50) 50 40.60 4.69
Al-MCM-41 (75) 75 42.50 4.90
Al-MCM-41 (100) 100 42.50 4.90
Table 2
Surface area, pore size and pore volume of the catalysts
Catalysts Surface area
(m
2
g
1
)
Pore size:
BJH
Ads
(nm)
Pore volume:
BJH
Ads
(cc g
1
)
Al-MCM-41 (100) 1023 2.644 0.9575
Al-MCM-41 (75) 1018 2.631 0.9540
Al-MCM-41 (50) 976.6 2.538 0.9407
Al-MCM-41 (25) 950.8 2.501 0.9457
HM (12) 431
Hb (8) 694
HY (4) 821
HZSM-5 (15) 393
MCM-41 presents the highest surface area and pore volume,
with all pores being in the mesopore range. The pore size
distribution of calcined MCM-41 shows a unique peak
centered at about 25 A

diameter (Fig. 3) as given in the

literature [21]. All samples exhibited type IVisotherms, with
capillary condensation steps occurring at a partial pressure
corresponding to HorvathKawazoe pore size distributions
centered around 25 A

. The BET surface areas were

calculated by tting the straight part of the p/x( p p
o
)
versus p/p
o
curve (where p is the pressure of nitrogen, and x
is the number of grams of adsorbed nitrogen per gram of
solid). The resulting surface area ranged from 950.8 to
1023 m
2
g
1
.
3.1.3. FT-IR Spectroscopy
The FT-IR spectra of the as-synthesised and calcined
samples are given in Figs. 4 and 5, respectively. The
presence of absorption bands around 2921 and 2851 cm
1
for the as-synthesised materials corresponds to asymmetric
and symmetric CH
2
vibrations of the surfactant molecules.
In the FT-IR spectrum of calcined samples, comparison of
the broad envelope due to OH stretch of water in the higher
energy region and the corresponding OH
2
bending mode
around 1637 cm
1
very well correlate with the water
adsorption property (hydrophilic property) of the catalysts.
The intensity of the bands due to water at the catalyst
decreases in the order MCM-41 (25) > MCM-41
(50) > MCM-41 (75) > MCM-41 (100), which is also the
order of the hydrophilic property of the catalysts.
3.1.4. FT-IR spectroscopy of pyridine-adsorbed samples
The FT-IR spectra for Al-MCM-41 (25), Al-MCM-41
(50), Al-MCM-41 (75) and Al-MCM-41 (100), containing
adsorbed pyridine are presented in Fig. 6. It is observed that
all the catalysts have both Bronsted and Lewis acid sites. A
typical sharp peak appearing at 1545 cm
1
is the indication
of pyridine adsorbed on Bronsted acid sites. A small peak at
B.R. Jermy, A. Pandurangan / Applied Catalysis A: General 288 (2005) 2533 28
Fig. 2. Adsorption isotherms of nitrogen on MCM-41 at 77 K: (a) Al-
MCM-41 (100); (b) Al-MCM-41 (75); (c) Al-MCM-41 (50); and (d) Al-
MCM-41 (25).
Fig. 3. Pore size distributions in Al-MCM-41 (adsorption isotherms): (a)
Al-MCM-41 (100); (b) Al-MCM-41 (75); (c) Al-MCM-41 (50); and (d) Al-
MCM-41 (25).
Fig. 4. FT-IR spectra of as-synthesised mesoporous materials (using KBr
method): (a) Al-MCM-41 (25); (b) Al-MCM-41 (50); (c) Al-MCM-41 (75);
and (d) Al-MCM-41 (100).
Fig. 5. FT-IR spectra of calcined mesoporous materials (using KBr
method): (a) Al-MCM-41 (25); (b) Al-MCM-41 (50); (c) Al-MCM-41
(75); and (d) Al-MCM-41 (100).
1455 cm
1
and a high-intensity peak around 1620 cm
1
indicate the pyridine adsorbed on Lewis acid sites.
3.1.5. Thermal analysis
The thermal properties of the samples were investigated
by TGA. Their data are presented in Table 3 and the
thermograms are presented in Fig. 7. The initial weight loss
up to 120 8C is due to desorption of physically adsorbed
water. Weight loss from 120 to 350 8C is due to organic
template. The oxidative desorption of the organic template
takes place at 180 8C; the minute quantity of weight loss
above 350 to 550 8C is related to water loss from the
condensation of adjacent SiOH groups to form siloxane
bonds [22]. It is seen that, as the Al content in MCM-41
framework increases, the amount of water desorbed
increases and the organic species decrease, which conrms
the decrease in the hydrophobic character of the catalyst
with increasing Al content.
3.2. Application of Al-MCM-41 (25), Al-MCM-41 (50),
Al-MCM-41 (75) and Al-MCM-41 (100) catalysts to the
esterication of acetic acid
3.2.1. Esterication
The esterication of acetic acid with various alcohols
is an electrophilic substitution. The reaction is relatively
slow and needs activation either by high temperature or
by a catalyst to achieve higher conversion to a reasonable
amount. The effects of various parameters on the
esterication reaction are discussed later. This study was
B.R. Jermy, A. Pandurangan / Applied Catalysis A: General 288 (2005) 2533 29
Fig. 6. FT-IR spectra of: (a) Al-MCM-41 (25); (b) Al-MCM-41 (50);
(c) Al-MCM-41 (75); and (d) Al-MCM-41 (100) catalysts containing
adsorbed pyridine (by self-supporting disk).
Fig. 7. TGA and DTA spectra of uncalcined mesoporous Al-MCM-41: (a)
Al-MCM-41 (100); (b) Al-MCM-41 (75); (c) Al-MCM-41 (50); and (d) Al-
MCM-41 (25).
Table 3
TGA spectral data of as-synthesised mesoporous Al-MCM-41 (Si/Al = 25,
50, 75 and 100) molecular sieves (in the presence of air)
Catalyst Weight loss (wt.%)
Total 43120 8C 120350 8C 350680 8C
Al-MCM-41 (25) 54.29 3.89 32.32 18.08
Al-MCM-41 (50) 51.17 5.09 29.71 16.37
Al-MCM-41 (75) 54.26 4.77 33.58 15.91
Al-MCM-41 (100) 50.44 5.26 31.75 13.44
also extended to heteropolyacids such as H
3
PW
12
O
40
nH
2
O,
H
3
PMo
12
O
40
nH
2
O, and H
4
SiW
12
O
40
nH
2
O. The zeolites
that are tested are H-Mordenite, Hb, H-ZSM-5 and HY in
order to have a comparative understanding of the catalytic
activity and selectivity of the products for the reaction.
3.2.2. Variation with reaction temperature
The reaction was carried out at various reaction
temperatures, ranging from 100 to 200 8C at a given alcohol
to acetic acid ratio of 1:2 for 8 h over Al-MCM-41 with
various Si/Al ratios: 25, 50, 75 and 100. The results are given
in Table 4. A common trend in the conversion over all
catalysts is an increase in alcohol conversion with increase
in temperature. Hence, the reaction requires activation
energy. The activation energy may be required to reduce
intermolecular associations of n-butanol for dispersed
adsorption and to avoid clustering of alcohols around the
Bronsted acid sites by hydrogen bonding. For each catalyst,
the conversion at the particular temperature decreases in the
order NBA > IBA >TBA, since each alcohol after chemi-
sorption on the Bronsted acid sites is to give a carboniumion
for nucleophilic reaction with acetic acid. The degree of
positive charge of carbonium ion may be important to
account the difference in their conversion. Since NBA can
give a carbonium ion of high degree of positive charge
compared to that of IBA and TBA, the conversion for
esterication with NBA becomes higher than other alcohols.
Isobutyl cation and tertiary butyl cation are to have less
degree of positive charge then n-butyl cation due to hyper-
conjugation. Hence the conversion becomes less than that
with n-butanol. Further, it may also be inferred that it is not
the formation of carbonium ion that is important in this
esterication, but it is the reactivity of the carbonium that is
important. Since the temperature employed in this reaction
is sufciently high, the rate of formation of carbonium ion
may not be the slow step in the esterication. The activities
for NBA and TBAwere compared at 125 8C, while that for
IBA was compared at 150 8C. The kinetics data under
pseudo-rst-order conditions are also derived; the results are
presented in Fig. 8. The rate constants derived by the rst-
order plot for all the three alcohols are 0.0495, 0.0286 and
0.026, respectively. The rate constants also follow the order
K
1
B > K
2
I > K
3
T, which also matches the activity of the
catalyst.
B.R. Jermy, A. Pandurangan / Applied Catalysis A: General 288 (2005) 2533 30
Table 4
Catalytic activity of Al-MCM-41 (25, 50, 75 and 100) for esterication of acetic acid with various alcohols
Catalyst Temperature (8C) %Conversion of NBA %Conversion of IBA %Conversion of TBA
Al-MCM-41 (100) 100 58.5 56.5 19.5
125 78.2 50.0 35.7
150 79.0 71.6 36.2
175 81.0 70.6 36.8
200 83.2 71.6 36.9
Al-MCM-41 (75) 100 60.9 66.9 18.0
125 70.3 61.9 33.6
150 80.0 71.2 33.9
175 85.2 71.3 34.9
200 87.1 72.2 35.0
Al-MCM-41 (50) 100 58.2 56.9 15.0
125 79.0 54.9 33.9
150 80.0 69.8 33.8
175 87.2 74.0 34.4
200 88.2 75.1 34.5
Al-MCM-41 (25) 100 61.6 57.2 11.2
125 87.3 41.0 33.2
150 88.5 55.8 33.5
175 88.7 66.5 34.2
200 90.1 69.7 34.4
Time = 8 h; feed ratio = 1:2 (alcohol:acid).
Fig. 8. Relation between ln (1 conversion) and time (h) with catalyst
loading of 0.05 g ml
1
for NBA and 0.15 g ml
1
for IBA and TBA,
respectively. Reaction conditions: temperature = 125 8C for NBA and
TBA; 150 8C for IBA; feed ratio = 1:4 (alcohol:acid).
3.2.3. Inuence of reaction time
The effect of reaction period on the esterication was
studied on Al-MCM-41 (25) at the optimised temperature of
125 8C with the feed ratio of 1:2 for NBA and on Al-MCM-
41 (100) for IBA and TBA at 150 and 125 8C, respectively.
Results are presented in Fig. 9. Conversion with respect to
NBA increases from 60 wt.% at 2 h to a maximum of
88.30 wt.% at 10 h. Similarly, the conversion with respect to
IBAwas 66.41 wt.%at 2 h to a maximumof 80.68 wt.%. For
TBA, the conversion at 2 h was 28 wt.%; after 10 h, it is
35.84 wt.%. As seen from the table, in the case on NBA, 6 h
of reaction time completes 80.0 wt.% of the reaction,
whereas at the end of 10 h, 88.0 wt.% of the reaction is
complete. Similarly, in the cases of IBA and TBA, 9.0 and
5.0 wt.% increase in the conversion was found to occur after
6 and 4 h. A gradual rise in the conversion were seen with
increase in the duration of the reaction period. This
observation is a normal feature for reaction procedures of
this kind.
3.2.4. Inuence of mole ratio of the reactants
The effects of different feed ratio on NBA, IBA and TBA
conversion were studied. Different feed ratios were used
over Al-MCM-41 (25) for NBA at 125 8C for 6 h and Al-
MCM-41 (100) at 150 8C, and 125 8Cfor IBAand TBAfor 6
and 4 h, respectively. The results are presented in Table 5.
When the feed increased from 1:1 to 1:5, a non-linear trend
in alcohol conversion was observed. The conversion of NBA
increased from 1:1 to 1:3, followed by a decrease thereafter.
Since acetic acid probably gets chemisorbed on the Bronsted
acid sites, increase in acetic acid content increased the
conversion. The decrease above 1:3 might be due to dilution
of alcohol by excess acetic acid, thus preventing its
accessibility for nucleophilic reaction with chemisorbed
acetic acid. A similar trend in alcohol conversion was also
observed for IBA and for TBA. The optimum feed ratio for
NBA was found to be 1:3, for IBA 1:2 and for TBA 1:5,
respectively. Although the optimumfeed reaction for TBAis
1:5, 1:3 might be sufcient, because the increase in
conversion for the change of feed ratio from 1:3 to 1:5
only about 2%. The reaction was also studied by taking more
alcohol content in the feed. The conversion was not much
altered for a change of feed ratio from 2:1 to 5:1 in the case
of NBA. Although the increase in alcohol content might be
expected to increase conversion, there might be dilution of
acetic acid, hence the expected increase in conversion must
be balanced by decrease in the conversion due to increase in
dilution of acetic acid. The conversion of IBA for similar
variation in the feed ratio decreased. The same trend was
also observed for the conversion of TBA. Hence in both
these cases there might be dilution of acetic acid by
increased alcohol contents, thereby preventing acetic acid
adsorption on the Bronsted acid sites. In addition, both
isobutyl and TBA can yield their corresponding carboca-
tions, which are more hydrophobic and stearically hindered
than those from NBA; as a result, the reaction with acetic
acid for the reverse nucleophilic reaction might be more
hindered than with NBA. So far, this study can conclude that
an increase in the acetic acid content in the feed is better for
esterication than a decrease in the acetic acid content in the
feed.
B.R. Jermy, A. Pandurangan / Applied Catalysis A: General 288 (2005) 2533 31
Fig. 9. The effect of reaction time on the esterication of acetic acid over
Al-MCM-41 (25) for NBA and Al-MCM-41 (100) for IBA and TBA.
Reaction conditions: temperature = 125 8C for NBA and TBA; 150 8C for
IBA; feed ratio = 1:2 (acid:alcohol).
Table 5
Effect of feed ratio on esterication of acetic acid over Al-MCM-41 (100)
Mole ratio %Conversion
of NBA
%Conversion
of IBA
%Conversion
of TBA
1:1 50.4 47.1 24.6
1:2 80.5 71.6 35.8
1:3 91.8 71.7 38.3
1:4 87.7 60.1 40.0
1:5 85.0 60.4 41.6
2:1 50.4 63.3 16.2
3:1 42.8 33.3 13.1
4:1 56.6 26.9 11.3
5:1 57.1 20.0 9.3
Temperature = 125 8C for NBA and TBA; 150 8C for IBA. Time = 6 h for
NBA and IBA and 4 h for TBA.
Fig. 10. The effect of amount of catalyst on the esterication of acetic acid
over Al-MCM-41 (25) for NBA and Al-MCM-41 (100) for IBA and TBA.
Reaction conditions: catalyst = Al-MCM-41 (25); temperature = 125 8C for
NBA and TBA; 150 8C for IBA; feed ratio = 1:2 for IBA and 1:3 for NBA
and TBA; time = 6 h for NBA and IBA and 4 h for TBA.
3.2.5. Inuence of the catalyst loading
The effect of catalyst loading on alcohol conversion was
studied at various optimised conditions over Al-MCM-41
(25) for NBA and Al-MCM-41 (100) for IBA and TBA. The
results are presented in Fig. 10. With increase in catalyst
loading, conversion increased. Increase was not much for
NBA. The optimum loading can taken as 0.05 g. Similarly
IBA conversion increased with increase in catalyst loading,
but the optimum loading may be taken as 0.15 g. Similarly,
for TBA conversion the optimum loading is taken to be
0.15 g. The requirement of higher catalyst loading for IBA
and TBA as compared to that for NBA might be due to the
effect of hydrophobic property of the alcohols, which could
be reduced by increase in the catalyst loading. There might
be some prevention of adsorption of acetic acid on the
catalyst surface at low loading.
3.2.6. Comparative study on various zeolites
The esterication of acetic acid with various alcohols was
also tested with different catalysts at optimised temperature
of 125 8Cwith the feed ratio of 1:3 for NBAand TBAfor 6 h
and 150 8C with the feed ratio of 1:2 for IBA for 4 h. The
results are presented in Table 6. Except zeolites, all catalysts
were found to be more active. The lower activity for zeolites
might be due to their micropores, with which the diffusional
constraints for the reaction and the product might be more.
The zeolites offer resistance to diffusion for the reactant in to
the pores, as well as for the product out of the pores. So from
this study it can be concluded that Al-MCM-41 material can
also be exploited as a catalyst for this reaction in addition to
zeolites, sulphated zirconia and HPA catalyst. The HPA
catalyst showed nearly the same activity as that of Al-MCM-
41 molecular sieves for all the three-esterication reactions.
This observation clearly supported molecular concession
free esterication inside the pores of MCM-41. The reaction
was also performed with as-prepared Al-MCM-41 (25) and
Al-MCM-41 (100) under the same conditions at the
temperature of 125 8C for NBA and TBA and 150 8C for
IBAwith the feed ratio of 1:2. The alcohol conversion found
to be very less for all the three alcohols. This clearly proves
that the reaction occurs within the pores of Al-MCM-41
molecular sieves. In addition, Al-MCM-41 (100) was tested
for its recyclability by running the reaction three times. No
change in conversion was observed, illustrating the stability
of the catalyst. In order to verify the active inuence of the
catalysts, we also studied the reaction in the absence of the
catalyst under the optimum conditions: feed ratio of 1:2 at
125 8C for NBA, TBA for 6 h and 150 8C for IBA for 4 h.
After completion of the reaction, the reaction mixture was
analysed. The acetic acid conversions for NBA, IBA and
TBAwere found to be 13, 10 and 14 wt.%. These are 74, 61
and 20% less than the results in the presence of catalyst.
Further in order to know whether the reaction occurs mainly
inside the pores, outside the pores or both, the study was
carried out with as-synthesised catalyst, which shows the
conversions 28, 12 and 13 wt.% for NBA, IBA and TBA,
respectively. Whereas, the calcined materials conversion
was 87.3, 71.6 and 35.7 wt.%, respectively, which was 58,
59 and 22 wt.% less conversion than calcined sample. So
the reaction is more prone to occur within the pores of the
catalyst rather than on the outer surface.
4. Conclusions
From the studies on the esterication of acetic acid over
various protonated Al-MCM-41 with different Si/Al ratios,
the following conclusions can be drawn. Al-MCM-41
molecular sieves can be conveniently exploited from the
esterication of acetic acid with NBA, IBA and TBA. For
NBA, Al-MCM-41 (25) was found to be more active where as
Al-MCM-41 (100) found to be more active for IBAand TBA.
The hydrophobicity of the catalyst surface and the hydro-
phobicity of the alcohol are also found to be deciding factors.
In the esterication, the reaction was found to follow Eley
Rideal type with chemisorption of acetic acid and nucleo-
philic attack of alcohol. The activity of Al-MCM-41 was also
comparable to HPA and sulphated zirconia catalyst. Zeolite
was found to be less active than either MCM-41 molecular
sieves or HPA-supported catalysts with respect to NBA
conversion. The reaction over as-prepared catalyst showed
68% less conversion than that of calcined sample. Hence, the
reaction is proposed to occur mainly within the pores of
the catalyst. This observation indirectly proves planting of
Bronsted acid sites insides the pores of the catalyst.
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank All India Council for
Technical Education (8020/RID/R&D-94/2001-02) for
providing nancial support.
B.R. Jermy, A. Pandurangan / Applied Catalysis A: General 288 (2005) 2533 32
Table 6
Effect of various catalysts on esterication of acetic acid over Al-MCM-41
(100)
Catalyst %Conversion
of NBA
%Conversion
of IBA
%Conversion
of TBA
Al-MCM-41 (25) 87.3 55.8 33.2
Al-MCM-41 (50) 75.5 69.8 33.9
Al-MCM-41 (75) 70.3 71.2 33.6
Al-MCM-41 (100) 80.5 71.6 35.7
H
3
PW
12
O
40
nH
2
O 79.0 72.7 36.6
H
3
PMo
12
O
40
nH
2
O 84.8 72.4 35.1
H
4
SiW
12
O
40
nH
2
O 86.9 69.8 34.6
HM (12) 40.4 60.4 38.2
Hb (8) 48.0 54.0 22.3
HY (4) 53.5 57.1 25.7
HZSM-5 (15) 42.7 60.2 25.4
Without catalyst 13.2 10.1 14.1
As-synthesised
Al-MCM-41 (100)
28.5 12.4 13.3
Temperature = 125 8C for NBA and TBA; 150 8C for IBA. Time = 6 h for
NBA and IBA and 4 h for TBA. Feed ratio = 1:2 for IBA and 1:3 for NBA
and TBA. Catalyst loading for NBA = 0.05 g, 0.15 g for IBA and TBA.
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