Abstract: A mathematical model for esterification in a batch reactor coupled with pervaporation to describe a simultaneous reaction and water removal from the reactor was developed. The permeation of all components in the reaction mixture and their non-ideal thermodynamic behavior were taken into account. The esterification of acetic acid with n-butanol for the production of n-butyl acetate integrated with a poly(vinyl alcohol) pervaporation membrane was selected as the model system for this study. The validity of the model was tested by comparing the calculated results with experimental data reported in the literature. The results show that the esterification is facilitated by water removal using pervaporation, which accelerates the rate of ester formation. A parametric study was carried out to evaluate the effects of operating conditions on the performance of the pervaporation-coupled esterification reactor and this included temperature, initial composition of the reactants, membrane area relative to the reactor’s size, and catalyst concentration. Based on these results, suitable operating conditions for the mem-brane-integrated reaction process are discussed.

Key words: pervaporation, esterification, permeation, integrated process, coupling factor