Chemical Engineering & Technology, Vol.30, No.6, 726-731, 2007
Direct synthesis of linalyl acetate from linalool in supercritical carbon dioxide: A thermodynamic study
The main components of Lavender and Lavandin essential oils are linalyl acetate and linalool. An enrichment of the product in linalyl acetate is of interest, since the market value of this component is considerably higher than that of linalool. This work presents a thermodynamic study of the synthesis of linalyl acetate from linalool by a catalytic transesterification with ethyl acetate in a supercritical CO2 medium. The study comprises the calculation of the equilibrium compositions of this reaction, and the correlation to the fluid phase equilibrium of this system, which is of interest for the determination of the maximum concentration of reagents during the reaction, and for the study of the fractionation of the reaction products. The nonideal behavior of the system is accounted for by using the Stryjek-Vera Peng-Robinson Equation of State (PRSV EoS). The results are used to select optimum conditions for an experimental study of this reaction.