Introduction:

The alcohols obtained by distillation of fusel oil have great potential for obtaining esters such as ethyl acetate, n-propyl acetate, isobutyl acetate and isoamyl acetate. These products constitute raw materials in different industries, especially in the food industry.

Objective:

To determine the experimental conditions for obtaining esters, as high-value products, by esterification of distilled fractions of fusel oil.

Materials and Methods:

A 2k experimental design was carried out to obtain esters from the distilled fraction 79 - 108 oC fraction of fusel oil. Independent variables considered were alcohol/acetic acid ratio and reaction time and the yield was the response variable.

Results and Discussion:

In the esterification of the distilled fraction of fuel oil from 79 - 108 oC, the best results were achieved when the two independent variables were used at their maximum levels. The highest yield of ester formed was obtained for isobutyl acetate with 42.52%, followed by n-propyl acetate with 13.73% and, to a lesser extent, ethyl acetate with 2.96%.

Conclusions:

The yields determined from the purified samples of the esterification reactions indicated the presence of ethyl acetate, n-propyl acetate and isobutyl acetate in all the distilled fractions. The highest proportion of esters obtained by chromatography corresponds to their boiling points in the range of temperatures in which the distilled fractions were obtained.

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