Esterification is an important process in the food industry and can be carried out

via

homogeneous or heterogeneous catalysis. The homogeneous catalyst

despite providing high conversion

can cause corrosion in reactors

which is not observed with the use of heterogeneous catalysts. However

some of these catalysts require a high process temperature and may lose their catalytic activity with reuse. Thus

catalytic membranes have been proposed as a promising alternative. The combination of catalysis and separation in a single module provides greater conversion

reduction of excess reagents

compact industrial plant

making the process more efficient. Within this context

this work aims to present a literature review on the catalytic membrane for the synthesis of esters

improving the understanding of the production and development. This review examines the materials

catalysts used

and synthetic pathways. A comparison between the methods

as well as limitations and gaps in the literature

are highlighted.