In this study, the reactive batch distillation of ethylene glycol monoacetate (EGMA) and ethyleneglycol diacetate (EGDA) was investigated experimentally and numerically via the esterificationreaction of acetic acid (AA) and monoethylene glycol (MEG) in the presence of heterogeneoustitanium (IV) isopropoxide catalyst. Four operating parameters, including time (4-12 hr),temperature (60-100°C), the molar ratio of acetic acid to ethylene glycol (0.4-2.2 M), and catalystweight (1-5wt%), were selected to design experiments, model and optimize the process through theresponse surface methodology (RSM). By applying the central composite design (CCD) method inRSM, two linear and second-order models were proposed for the responses of MEG conversion andEGD selectivity. The response surface plots showed that the reaction temperature and time had amore significant effect on increasing the reaction yield, while the molar ratio of reactants andcatalyst weight were two critical parameters in increasing selectivity. The results of processoptimization to maximize the responses indicated that the optimum process point in the operatingrange was at 9.5 hr, the temperature of 90°C, the molar ratio of 2.92:1, and catalyst weight of 2wt%where the predicted MEG conversion and selectivity were 100% and 94.72%, respectively. TheMEG conversion reduced from 91.1% to 56.7% after using the catalyst four times. تفاصيل المقالة