Overview
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Read the articleAUTHORS
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Roger LAMARTINE: Professor at Claude Bernard University, LYON
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Jean-Pierre SCHARFF: Professor at the Claude Bernard University in LYON and at the École Supérieure de Chimie Physique Électronique in LYON
INTRODUCTION
Esters are compounds formally derived from an oxo-acid and an alcohol, phenol, heteroarenol or enol by union with loss of water from the hydroxyl group of the acid and the hydroxyl group of the other compound.
Esters are manufactured in large numbers by the chemical industry, sometimes in large tonnages. Examples include vinyl acetate, methyl methacrylate and butyl acrylate.
Many esters are used as finished products for applications as solvents, plasticizers, perfumes or reaction intermediates.
They are also precursors for mass-market plastics; the market for engineering polyesters currently stands at around 450 kt/year worldwide.
This general article summarizes the main reaction possibilities for obtaining ester monomers and their industrial application.
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Esterification
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