(136h) Pervaporation - Esterification Coupling

In this paper we describe the synthesis of a new polymeric membrane which is able to catalyze an esterification reaction and selectively extract water by pervaporation. The experimental example chosen here is the esterification of n-butanol by acetic acid at temperature ranging from 90°C to 110 °C. The membrane is a polymeric PVA(40%)-poly(styrenesulfonic acid-co-maleic acid)(60%) blended membrane. The membrane is stable and selective to water. With this process the water molar fraction in the reactor is low and the conversion rate is high.