Complementarity of heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis for oelic acid esterification with trimethylolpropane over ion-exchange resins

This work investigates the effect of Amberlyst 36, Purolite CT482 and Purolite CT275DR on the esterification of oleic acid with trimethylolpropane for production of the triester. The results assess that, while the three resins catalyze heterogeneously the formation of mono- and diesters, the final triester is generated thanks to the acidity of residual oleic acid. This cooperative scenario between heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis is of first importance, as to complete the reaction over conventional heterogeneous catalyst was not feasible because of the strong steric hindrance of the intermediate product (diester) and the final product (triester).