Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
An ester of carboxylic acid.R stands for any group (organic or inorganic) and R′ stands for organyl group.. In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an acid (organic or inorganic) in which the hydrogen atom (H) of at least one acidic hydroxyl group (−OH) of that acid is replaced by an organyl group (−R).
Esterification is the general name for a chemical reaction in which two reactants (typically an alcohol and an acid) form an ester as the reaction product. Esters are common in organic chemistry and biological materials, and often have a pleasant characteristic, fruity odor. This leads to their extensive use in the fragrance and flavor industry.
Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical compound and the simplest aliphatic alcohol, with the chemical formula C H 3 OH (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often abbreviated as MeOH).
The term alcohol originally referred to the primary alcohol ethanol (ethyl alcohol), which is used as a drug and is the main alcohol present in alcoholic drinks. The suffix -ol appears in the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) chemical name of all substances where the hydroxyl group is the functional group with the ...
If the alcohol produced by the reaction can be separated from the reactants by distillation this will drive the equilibrium toward the products. This means that esters with larger alkoxy groups can be made from methyl or ethyl esters in high purity by heating the mixture of ester, acid/base, and large alcohol.
[15] [16] The term "methyl" was derived in about 1840 by back-formation from "methylene", and was then applied to describe "methyl alcohol" (which since 1892 is called "methanol"). Methyl is the IUPAC nomenclature of organic chemistry term for an alkane (or alkyl) molecule, using the prefix "meth-" to indicate the presence of a single carbon.
The most commonly used alcohol is methanol, producing fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). When ethanol is used fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) are created. Other alcohols used for the production of biodiesel include butanol and isopropanol. Fatty acid ethyl esters are biomarkers for the consumption of ethanol (alcoholic beverages). [1] [2] [3]
The conversion of methyl acetate back into its components, by an acid, is a first-order reaction with respect to the ester. The reaction of methyl acetate and a base, for example sodium hydroxide, is a second-order reaction with respect to both reactants. Methyl acetate is a Lewis base that forms 1:1 adducts with a variety of Lewis acids.