Catalytic performance of cerium-modified ZSM-5 zeolite as a catalyst for the esterification of glycerol with acetic acid

Esterification of glycerol with acetic acid was carried out over cerium-modified ZSM-5 zeolites to synthesize monoacetin (MA) and diacetin (DA). The modified zeolite catalyst was characterized. The effect of reaction process parameters such as acetic acid to glycerol mole ratio (1-11), reaction temperature (30-120 degrees C), and catalyst weight (2-8 wt %) on the selectivity of the product was investigated. At 120 degrees C reaction temperature, 8 wt% catalyst, and 9:1 acetic acid to glycerol mole ratio, about 98.32% conversion of glycerol were obtained. This reaction follows pseudo-first-order reaction kinetics and the activation energy was found to be 63.72 kJ mol(-1).