Zhang, FanRezac, Mary E.Majumdar, SudiptoKosaraju, PraveenNemser, Stuart2014-10-142014-10-142014-06-03https://rihttp://hdl.handle.net/2097/18371Esters have applications as flavoring agents, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. Esterification and transesterification are convenient means to synthesize esters. Frequently, a large excess of one of the reactants is mandatory to obtain good yields for these equilibrium driven reactions. Selective removal of the reaction by-product allows for an increased yield. In this paper, the esterification of oleic acid with ethanol and the transesterification of methyl benzoate with n-butanol were studied in pervaporation membrane reactors equipped with perfluorinated composite membranes. A 95% yield of ethyl oleate was reached within 60 hours and the conversion of methyl benzoate increased from 52% to 77%.en-USThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).PervaporationComposite membraneMembrane reactorTransesterificationEsterificationArticle (author version)