Continuous Flow Esterifications using Mineral Acid Catalysis

Esters are widely employed within the chemical industry, with many low molecular weight derivatives finding application in flavours and fragrances and tert-butyl esters finding application as protecting groups.
The reversible nature of the reaction can however prove problematic, especially when reactions are performed on an industrial-scale.
In this application note, we report the performance of two esterification reactions utilizing benzoic acid as the substrate in each case and the mineral acid sulfuric acid, as e means of demonstrating the high ester conversions attainable within short reaction time.