Sulfated zirconia (SZr) solid acid catalyst, prepared by conventional precipitation technique was studied
for esterification of palmitic acid with methanol to synthesize methyl palmitate. The catalyst exhibited
90% yield of methyl palmitate at 60 C over 6 wt% catalyst. The yield was significantly higher under
solvent-free conditions than using hexane as a solvent. The alkyl palmitate yield was decreased with
an increase in the alkyl chain of alcohol from methanol to n-butanol. The reaction followed pseudofirst
order kinetics under the optimized reaction conditions with a reaction rate of 0.61 mmol h1, rate
constant of 12.13 103 h1 and turn over frequency of 0.088 min1.