A batch system was used for selective esterification of glycerol, the by-product of biodiesel production process, to glycerol acetates in acetic acid. Esterification product of glycerol with acetic acid, due to the presence of three hydroxyl functional groups in the structure of glycerol is a mixture of the three isomers monoacetin, diacetin and triacetin. Composition of the product depends on parameters such as the catalyst used, the acetic acid to glycerol mole ratio and the amount of water present in the reaction. In the first part, the selective and batch conversion of glycerol to triacetin was done by esterification of glycerol with acetic acid in the presence of silica benzyl sulfonated catalyst. In the optimum conditions the acetic acid to glycerol ratio of 7 to 1 and temperature of 100 °C, the selectivity of monoacetin, diacetin and triacetin respectively was 22, 50 and 28 percent at the 100% conversion for the reaction. The recovered catalyst was reused with no significant deactivation after two 26 h cycles. Silica benzyl sulfonated catalyst after 45 h the reaction was still active.
