Abstract: Preparation of ethyl trifluoroacetate (TFAE) with traditional procedures had many disadvantages such as the raw materials waste, high energy consumption, amounts of equipment’s investments, long production period, difficult operation, etc. The reactive distillation method was introduced based on analysis of every component’s characteristics in the production system of TFAE. Combined reaction with distillation, the equipment’s investments was reduced and the production would be carried continuously. Preparation of TFAE through reactive distillation process had been researched, with trifluoroacetic acid and ethanol as raw materials, concentrated sulfuric acid as the catalyst. The experiments were focused on the reflux ratio, the mole ratio of components, reaction temperature, amount of catalyst and other factors influencing the yield and purity of TFAE, Finally, the optimum reaction conditions were obtained.
Key words: Ethyl trifluoroacetate; Trifluoroacetic acid; Ethanol; Reactive distillation
