Catalytic Synthesis of Butyl Oleate by Bismuth Phosphotungstate

The catalyst bismuth phosphotungstate was prepared and characterized, then the esterification of n-butanol and oleic acid was studied with bismuth phosphotungstate as a catalyst. The effect of kinds of phosphotungstate, molar ratio of alcohol to oil, the amount of catalysts, reaction time and reaction temperature were investigated. The experiment results show that molar ratio of 1.8∶1 of alcohol to oil, the amount of catalysts is 5% (based on weight of fatty oil), reaction time is 4 h under reflux conditions. At this time, the yield of esterification is 90.05%.