A Comparative Study of the Catalytic Activity of Sulfonic Acid Cation-Exchange Resins with a Macroporous and Gel Structure in Fatty Acid Esterification

The activity and stability of cation-exchange resins in fatty acid esterification with methyl alcohol have been studied. The cation-exchange resins have been characterized by IR spectroscopy, electron microscopy, and low-temperature nitrogen adsorption–desorption (BET method). It has been shown that, due to a developed surface and a larger pore volume, the reaction products are readily desorbed and thereby prevent the catalytic sites from blocking and the catalyst from losing activity. Of the studied cation-exchange resins, the best results have been obtained in the case of using the Lewatit MonoPlus SP 112 cation-exchange resin with a macroporous structure.