Preparation of trimethyl borate

PREPARATION OF TRIMETHYL BORATE(M.Sc.Thesis)Rüya ARSLANGAZI UNIVERSITYINSTITUE OF SCINCE AND TECHNOLOGYJanuary 2007ABSTRACTIn this study, the esterification reaction of boric acid with methyl alcohol wascarried out in the presence of calcium cloride as a dehydrating agent. Trimethylborate was distilled in the form of an azeotrope with methanol, using theVigreux distillation column. For seperation of azeotrope, inorganic salts ofcalcium cloride and zinc cloride were used. Azeotrope was seperated in twolayers one of which consist of almost pure trimethyl borate which can besuccessively rectified. The trimethyl borate content was determined bytitrimetric method. Furthermore, trimethyl borate content has been determinedby spectrophotometric method using the calibration curve obtained at 274 nmwave length. The equilibrium constant of this esterification reaction was foundto be 1.94×10-3 at 55 ºC and 2.5×10-4 at 50 ºC. Furthermore, the order of thereaction with respect to boric acid was found to be 1.16.Science Code : 201.1.041Key Words : Trimethyl Borate, Azeotrope, Equilibrium Constant, DistillationPage Number : 81Adviser : Prof. Dr. Baki ERDOĞAN