Empirical Modelling and Optimization of Ngbo Pillarred Activated Clay Catalysts using Response Surface Methodology

In this work, Box-Behnken”s Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was applied to study the esterification reaction effectiveness of Ngbo pillarred activated clay catalyst. The esterification was monitored based on temperature, time duration, amount of reactant, catalyst weight, and particle size. The Box--Behnken’s Response Surface Methodology indicates that the pillarred clay-catalyzed esterification reactions proceed through dual Acid-complex and Alcohol-complex mechanisms, with the Alcohol mechanism dominating. The esterification efficiencies of acetic acid and ethanol by acid-activated Ngbo clay catalyst optimized using RSM models indicated the estimated esterification percentage of ˃99%. The predicted and experimental values under the same conditions showed less than 5% difference, making the Box-Behnken design approach an efficient, effective, and reliable method for the esterification of acetic acid with ethanol. The produced catalyst was optimized using A-One way ANOVA modelling, which indicated the correlation coefficient of the regression of 0.8674, implying that 86.74% of the total variation in the esterification reaction was attributed to the experimental variables. The result obtained indicated that the process could be applied in the esterification of acetic acid to avoid the drawbacks of corrosion, loss of catalyst and environmental problems.