[jackie_t4701]

Hi everyone!

Does anyone know what will speed up the reaction of oleic acid to ethyl oleate in an ethanol:water 8:2 mixture?  Will it happen quicker at a higher pH or a lower pH?  Can this reaction be stopped or significantly slowed down?

I'd love to hear anyones input.

Thanks!
Jackie

[Yggdrasil]

The presence of water severely affects the yield in Fischer esterifications because, as a product of the esterification reaction, water will drive the equilibrium toward the reactant side.  Remove the water, add conc. sulfuric acid, reflux for a few hours and you should be ok.