Levulinic acid has been identified as a promising green, biomass-derived platform chemical. n-Butyl levulinate is used as an important
intermediate having diverse applications. The present work focuses on the synthesis of n-butyl levulinate by esterification of levulinic acid
withn-butanol using heteropolyacid (HPA) supported on acid-treated clay montmorillonite (K10). 20% (w/w)dodecatungestophosphoric acid
(DTPA) supported on K10 was found to be the most efficient catalyst with 97% levulinic acid conversion and 100% selectivity towardsn-butyl
levulinate. Effects of various process parameters were studied to examine the efficacy of 20% (w/w) DTPA/K10 for optimization of the activity