Synthesis of Butyl Lactate Catalyzed by Cation Exchange Resin Modified Cerium Sulfate

The cation exchange resin modified by cerium sulfate was used as catalyst for the synthesis of butyl lactate from lac-tic acid and n-butyl alcohol.The effects of catalyst amount,molar ratio of n-butyl alcohol to lactic acid,reaction time,catalyst reuse,and water-carrying agent on the yield were investigated.The catalyst had high activity,and could be separated easily and reused.The optimum reaction parameters were determined as follows: lactic acid 0.2mol,molar ratio of alcohol to acid 2.0,catalyst 2.0g and reaction time 80min.Under these conditions,the yield of butyl lactate was up to 95.2%.