Abstract
In this study, we reported experimental results of aldol condensation reaction between acetone and benzaldehyde with a hydrotalcite catalyst carried out under the conditions of 333 - 353 K, 7.85 - 30 MPa, and 15 - 180 minutes using a batch-type reactor. First, we estimated a main reaction pathway on this reaction system based on the variation of product distribution at variou reaction conditions. As a result, we found that benzylideneacetone, which is a desired product, was formed via aldol condensation reaction of acetone and benzaldehyde, but the benzylideneacetone further reacted with benzaldehyde to form a byproduct dibenzylideneacetone. Next, we investigated effects of aome operation factors on this reaction in supercritical carbon dioxide and consequently found that benzylideneacetone was successfully produced in a selective manner under the high-temperature, lower pressure, and higher acxetone/benzaldehyde molar ratio.
