Influence of Inner-sphere Hydrophobicity of Homogeneous Sulfonic Acids on the Kinetics of Esterification for Bio-oil Upgrading

We investigated the influence of water on the kinetics of esterification of acetic acid and methanol catalyzed by various sulfonic acids as a model bio-oil upgrading and revealed a relationship between heat of solution and catalytic activity; acid with high heat of solution exhibited more negative H₂O reaction order.