Aldol Condensation of Methyl Propionate and Formaldehyde: Thermodynamics, Reaction Process, and Network

Abstract

The aldol condensation of methyl propionate (MP) and formaldehyde (FA) is an environmentally friendly and sustainable route to produce methyl methacrylate (MMA). However, the side reaction is a huge barrier to achieving high selectivity to the target product. To strengthen the regulation of selectivity for the main reaction, a reaction network was established based on the validation and analysis of side reactions in the system through a combination of experimental and computational methods. The thermodynamics was analyzed through the Gibbs free energy (ΔrGTθ) of reactions. On the basis of a rigorous material balance of all components, the sources and reaction equations of 15 products were identified. The multivariate nonlinear model between the yield of different products and reaction conditions was established to predict the yield of each product. The mean relative error of the actual yield and predicted yield was less than 5%. The key influencing condition for the synthesis of MMA was the liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV).