Lactic acid, being virtually a non-boiling compound, is difficult to separate from its aqueous solution by conventional methods such as distillation. It is necessary to convert it to the relatively volatile ester and the separation of the ester, followed by hydrolysis, is recommended as an appropriate method of recovery. In the present work, we explore and investigate a novel reactive distillation strategy to perform esterification, distillation and hydrolysis in a single unit. The experiments were performed in a batch reactive distillation set-up and the results have been explained with the help of an appropriate model. An unsteady state mathematical model based on an equilibrium stage concept was developed for batch reactive distillation. A pseudo-homogeneous model was used for the determination of reaction kinetics. The effect of operating parameters such as feed concentration, mole ratio, catalyst loading, boil-up rate, etc. on the recovery of lactic acid was studied with the help of simulation and experimental results. The feasibility issue of reactive distillation has been discussed based on the results obtained. (c) 2006 Society of Chemical Industry.