Production Process Of Acetate

Using renewable catalysts, low-grade dilute hydrocarbons such as propylene, 1-butene, 2-butene, and isobutylene are directly added to acetic acid or other carboxylic acids for esterification to produce corresponding isopropyl acetate, sec-butyl acetate, isobutyl acetate, and other acetate esters, as well as other carboxylic acid esters. At present, the products with the widest market prospects are isopropyl acetate and sec-butyl acetate vinegar.
Ethyl acetate
Ethyl acetate (EA) has excellent solubility and can be used as a fast drying solvent. Ethyl acetate has three grades: 85% 88%, 99%, and 99.5%, with a universal grade of 99%. Ethyl acetate is mainly used as an active solvent in coatings (paints and enamels), inks, and adhesive formulations. It can also be used as a process solvent for pharmaceutical and organic chemical synthesis, and because ethyl acetate is a natural compound present in many fruits. Therefore, there are many applications in the food industry, which can be used as seasoning agents and process extractants according to statistics. Ethyl acetate, as an excellent solvent, is gradually replacing some low-end solvents and has great development potential.
1.1 Production Technology
There are four main routes for synthesizing ethyl acetate: one is the acetic acid esterification method (acetic acid and ethanol undergo esterification reaction under the catalysis of concentrated sulfuric acid); The second method is acetaldehyde condensation (two molecules of acetaldehyde undergo Tishchenko catalyzed condensation reaction with alkoxides under the catalysis of ethanol aluminum), the third method is ethanol dehydrogenation disproportionation, and the fourth method is ethylene addition (ethylene/acetic acid is directly synthesized under the catalysis of heteropoly acids).
1.2 World Capacity Analysis
In 2009, the global total production capacity of ethyl acetate was approximately 1.78 million tons. The total output was approximately 1.62 million tons.
1.3 Domestic Market Analysis
In 1990, the production capacity of ethyl acetate in China was only 40000 t/a. In 2001, it reached 30000 t/a. In 2005 and 2006, the production capacity reached 87000 t/a and 133000 t/a. In 2009, the production capacity reached 1.42 million t/a.
Butyl acetate
Butyl acetate has four isomers, but only n-butyl acetate and isobutyl acetate are the most useful in industry. Butyl acetate is mainly used as a solvent for paints. Due to its good flowability and scratch resistance, it can be used in thin film coating resins. Examples include nitrocellulose, butyl acetate cellulose, polystyrene, and methyl methacrylate resin. It can also be widely used as a solvent for manufacturing artificial leather, textiles and plastics, as an extractant for oil and medicine, as well as as a spice and a component of synthetic essence. Butyl acetate can also be used as a dehydrating agent. They can form ternary azeotropes with water.