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Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Light-driven Enzymatic Decarboxylation
Published on: May 22, 2016
Esterification of fatty acid over Tunisian acid activated clay: kinetic study
Soumaya Bouguerra Neji1, Mahmoud Trabelsi, Mohamed H Frikha
1Laboratory of Applied Chemistry: Heterocycles, Fats and Polymers, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences of Sfax, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia.
Abstract:
Tunisian acid activated clay was investigated as catalyst in the esterification of stearic acid with ethyl alcohol, carried out in a semi-continuous reactor. Kinetic study shows that the reaction is first order with respect to acid concentration. The activation energy found was 21 kJ/mol. This result suggests that the reaction process was controlled by a diffusional step. A kinetic model, giving the apparent constant rate as a function of temperature and catalyst concentration, has been established. This equation has been then successfully applied for a complex mixture of fatty acid.
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