Ethyl Acetate – NaOH Reaction Kinetics Experiment Martin Novick Group 14, Chemical Engineering Laboratory Submitted to Prof. David B. Henthorn September 25, 2012 Summary The goal of this project was to determine the pre-exponential factor, k o , the activation energy, E, and the reaction rate constants, k, of the saponification process of ethyl acetate using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) at 5 temperature between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius. Two trails were performed at temperatures 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24 degrees Celsius. The main equipment of the project were the jacketed beaker batch reactor and the LabPro conductivity probe. The solution’s conductivity throughout the reaction was collected and plotted in a linearized plot against time to…show more content… The temperature and conductivity probes were completely submerged under the surface of the reacting solution. One data reading was retrieved per second. Before the reaction process begun, the cooling water circulation system was set at desired temperature and the reactants were cooled to the target temperature to keep an
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isothermal reaction environment. In Equation 8, the k value was only a function of temperature; if temperature varied throughout the reaction, the k value would also vary throughout the reaction. The reaction was started once thermal equilibrium between the batch reactor beaker and cooling water was established. For about the first half a minute, only the conductivity of NaOH in the reactor was collected, to ensure the initial conductivity in conductivity was more easily observed. The initial conductivity was the first conductivity point after the major drop of conductivity due to the addition of ethyl acetate. The reaction was started after about half a minute after the start of the data collection by adding the ethyl acetate. The solution was well mixed throughout the reaction to ensure a uniform temperature of the solution, to prevent any local k values being different from the overall k value. If there any temperature gradients throughout the system existed during the reaction process, there would be different local k values throughout the reactor. Data collection was terminated at least half a minute after the reaction had gone to
