Synthesis of butyl lactate on S_2O_8~(2-)/ZrO_2-CeO_2 solid superacid catalyst

The n-butyl lactate was synthesized using lactic acid and n-butyl alcohol with solid superacid S2O82-/ZrO2-CeO2 as catalyst.Effects of catalyst amount,ratio of reactants,reaction time,reaction temperature and reuse of catalyst on degree of esterification were investigated.The results show that the optimum conditions for synthesis of butyl lactate are as follows: molar ratio of n-butyl alcohol to lactic acid 3.0∶1.0,w(S2O82-/ZrO2-CeO2)=12.0%(relative to lactic acid),reaction temperature 145 ℃ and the yield of butyl lactate was 96.6% for 2.0 h.It has good reusability.