Esterification of Oleic Acid with Methanol Using Zr(SO4)2 as a Heterogeneous Catalyst

The influence of reaction parameters like molar ratio of methanol to oleic acid, catalyst amount, and reaction temperatures for oleic acid esterification with methanol by using Zr(SO4)(2) as a heterogeneous catalyst was investigated. Nearly complete conversion was obtained when the esterification reaction was carried out under optimized reaction conditions in terms of molar ratio of methanol to oleic acid, catalyst amount, reflux temperature of methanol, and reaction time. Furthermore, the kinetics of the esterification reaction was also investigated. The experimental data supported the validity of the suggested Eley-Rideal model.