Different chemical and biological catalysts were screened for the biphasic esterification of aqueous solutions of succinic acid with 1-octanol. Among them, DBSA, Nafion NR-50 and Novozym 435 were found to be the most attractive catalysts. The pH, the temperature and the catalyst concentration had high impacts on the reaction rates. The optimization of the reaction conditions with a single-variable approach for the chemical catalysts and a ...
