Studies on Synthesis of Benzyl Butyrate Using Fe-β Zeolite as Catalyst

Benzyl butyrate was synthesized using Fe-β zeolite as catalyst by the esterification reaction of benzyl alcohol with n-butyric acid.The effects of n(n-butyric acid)/n(benzyl alcohol),the amount of catalyst used,the amount of cyclohexane used,reaction temperature,reaction time,and the activation temperature and time of the catalyst on the esterification reaction were investigated.The appropriate reaction conditions were found to be as follows:n(n-butyric acid)/n(benzyl alcohol)=1∶1.2,the amount of Fe-β zeolite used=1.8 g per mol n-butyric acid,the amount of cyclohexane used=5 mL per mol n-butyric acid and the reaction time=5 h,The conversion of n-butyric acid obtained under the above conditions was close to 60%.The results indicate that the appropriate activation temperature for the catalyst is 540?℃,and the activation time is 3 h.