The present study introduces kinetic modeling of liquid phase α-pinene acetoxylation with acetic acid over an ion-exchange resin catalyst. The reaction was carried out in a laboratory scale high-pressure autoclave. α-terpinyl (35 wt%) and bornyl (40 wt%) acetates were the primary products. The predominant reaction pathways were identified and evaluated. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012.

Heterogeneously-catalyzed and solvent-catalyzed liquid phase acetoxylation of α-pinene with acetic acid acting as both a solvent and a reagent was studied. Both solvent-catalyzed and catalytic experiments were carried out and various reaction conditions were studied. The influence of temperature, pressure, solvent and gas milieu were taken into account. Bornyl, fenchyl, verbenyl as well as α-terpinyl acetates, limonene, camphene and γ-terpinene were found among reaction products. The addition of the catalyst allowed for maximization of the yield of bornyl acetate. The predominant products obtained were α-terpinyl, verbenyl and bornyl acetates. The reaction pathways were identified and evaluated. The aim of this work was to study the feasibility of batch acetoxylation of α-pinene. The analysis of the complex product distribution is not trivial and, consequently, resolving the reaction network was important. The optimized reaction conditions were searched for aiming at an efficient conversion of α-pinene to a mixture of valuable products.