In this study

the kinetics of isopropyl palmitate synthesis including the reaction mechanism was studied based on the two-step noncatalyticmethod. The liquid-phase diffusion effect on the reaction process was eliminated by adjusting the stirring rate. The results showed that the two-step reaction followed a tetrahedral mechanism and conformed to second-order reaction kinetics. Nucleophilic attack on the carbonyl carbon afforded an intermediate

containing a tetrahedral carbon center. The intermediate ultimately decomposed by elimination of the leaving group

affording isopropyl palmitate. The experimental data were analyzed at different temperatures by the integral method. The kinetic equations of the each step were deduced

and the activation energy and frequency factor were obtained. Experiments were performed to verify the feasibility of kinetic equations

and the result showed that the kinetic equations were reliable. This study could be very significant to both industrial application and determining the continuous production of isopropyl palmitate.