KINETIC AND CATALYTIC ASPECTS IN MELT TRANSESTERIFICATION OF DIMETHYL TEREPHTHALATE WITH ETHYLENE-GLYCOL

The kinetics of melt transesterification of dimethyl terephthalate with ethylene glycol in the presence of zinc acetate as catalyst has been studied in semibatch conditions. We observed that this reaction occurs with the formation of many oligomers characterized from the terminal groups of the chains that can be hydroxyl-hydroxyl, methyl-hydroxyl or methyl-methyl. Experimental runs have been performed at different temperatures, initial reagents ratios, and catalyst concentrations, following the amount of methanol released during the time as well as the concentration of any kind of oligomer. All the oligomers have been identified and determined by HPLC analysis. A classic kinetic model based on a complex reaction scheme containing four or five reaction sequences has been developed. The scheme with four sequences foresees 24 oligomeric species involved in 58 different reactions, while the scheme with five sequences has 48 oligomeric species involved in 228 reactions. Despite the large number of oligomers and occurring reactions, only two kinetic parameters and two equilibrium constants are necessary to simulate the kinetic behaviour of all the oligomers. A kinetic constant is related to the reaction of a methyl group with a hydroxyl of ethylene glycol, while the other corresponds to the reaction of a methyl group with a hydroxyl in a chain. Both kinetic constants show an activation energy of about 15 kcal/mol. We observed a nonlinear correlation between activity and catalyst concentration and interpreted this fact by assuming two different catalytic activity levels for a dissociated and an undissociated zinc ionic couple, respectively. (C) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.