title: Esterification of fatty acid over Tunisian acid activated clay: kinetic study.
abstract: Tunisian acid activated clay was investigated as catalyst in the esterification of stearic acid with ethyl alcohol, carried out in a semi-continuous reactor. Kinetic study shows that the reaction is first order with respect to acid concentration. The activation energy found was 21 kJ/mol. This result suggests that the reaction process was controlled by a diffusional step. A kinetic model, giving the apparent constant rate as a function of temperature and catalyst concentration, has been established. This equation has been then successfully applied for a complex mixture of fatty acid.
authors: Laboratory of Applied Chemistry: Heterocycles, Fats and Polymers, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences of Sfax, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors: Soumaya Bouguerra
authors: SB
authors: Neji
authors: Mahmoud
authors: M
authors: Trabelsi
authors: Mohamed H
authors: MH
authors: Frikha