Modeling and simulation of an ideal plug flow reactor for synthesis of ethyl oleate using homogeneous acid catalyst

The production of ethyl oleate, by homogenous acid esterification of oleic acid with ethanol, have discussed experimentally and via computational simulation in a plug flow reactor. An innovative simulation model has developed to predict the esterification reaction performance in an ideal plug flow reactor. The amount of H 2 SO 4 acid catalyst, the initial molar ratio of alcohol to oleic acid, ethanol concentration, reaction temperature, and esterification time have examined their effects on ethyl oleate production and the conversion of oleic acid. Then the simulation extended to examine the esterification reaction kinetics and determine the reaction rate coefficients. The simulation results demonstrate that the increasing of H 2 SO 4 acid, initial molar ratio of ethanol to oleic acid, ethanol concentration, and reaction temperature improved the productivity of the ethyl oleate and reduced the reactor space-time. The kinetics results illustrated that the reaction sensitivity to the temperature unchanging by using higher ethanol concentration and alcohol to oleic acid initial ratio. Lastly, the experimental yields at different conditions were slightly higher from those simulating with average values of 93.62 and 92.29%, respectively, indicating that the phenomenon of back-mixing cannot be ignored in esterification reactors, especially with a relatively high retention time within the reactor.