Synthesis of butyl lactate via heterogeneous catalysis

Ga2O3/SiO2,a novel solid acid esterification catalyst,was synthesized by calcinating at 500 ℃ for 2 h at a Ga2O3 loading concentration of 20%.As-synthesized product was characterized by means of infrared spectrometry.Moreover,as-synthesized product was used as a catalyst to synthesize butyl lactate via heterogeneous catalytic route.The effects of various parameters such as catalyst dosage,molar ratio of n-butanol to lactic acid,dosage of cyclohe-xane,reaction time and reusability of the catalyst on esterification rate were investigated.Results indicate that butyl lactate can be readily synthesized by 50 min of reflux reaction of 0.2 mol lactic acid at an n-butanol to lactic acid molar ratio of 1.4 and a catalyst dosage of 0.75 g.Corresponding esterification rate is as high as 97.37%.When compared with other catalysts for synthesizing butyl lactate,as-synthesized catalyst possesses advantages such as simple preparation procedure,good catalytic activity,short reaction time,high esterification rate,and some reusability.