Methanol → Lactic Acid

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

In the reaction, 100 g of SnCl2.2H2O and 200 g of NH4Cl were added into a reactor (inside volume 10.0 L) as catalyst. 3.0 kg of methanol was also added into the reactor. The reactor was sealed and heated to 130° C. under stirring. A solution of 0.500 kg sucrose in 0.800 kg water was pumped into the reactor with a flow of 10.0 mL/min to carry out the reaction. After pumping all of the sucrose solution into the reactor, the reaction was kept running for another 1.5 h to complete the reaction. The resulted solution was analyzed by GC and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). 80.2% of total molar yield of methyl lactate and lactic acid was obtained. The reaction was reproduced and a total yield of methyl lactate and lactic acid of 95.0% was obtained.

Provenance & Evidence