Several industrially important liquid phase reactions which involve acetaldehyde as the main reactant are practised in the presence of acidic catalyst. However, under these conditions, acetaldehyde also undergoes oligomerization via self-aldol condensation reactions to form multiple side products thereby reducing the selectivity of the desired product. In this work, we investigate the detailed kinetics of oligomerization over a commonly used commercial cation exchange resin, Amberlyst-15 as catalyst. It is found that, crotonaldehyde and subsequent heavy aldols are formed in the reaction. Molecular weight distribution of the oligomers formed during the reaction is verified with Flory’s statistical method. Kinetic studies are performed in an autoclave over a temperature range of 343−363 K. The effect of different parameters such as temperature, concentration, catalyst loading, and catalyst reusability is examined. A kinetic model based on Langmuir-Hinshelwood-Hougen-Watson (LHHW) rate expression is proposed to explain acetaldehyde oligomerization in the presence of acidic resin.

在酸性催化剂的存在下，进行了几种以乙醛为主要反应物的工业上重要的液相反应。但是，在这些条件下，乙醛还会通过以下方式进行低聚自醛醇缩合反应形成多种副产物，从而降低了所需产物的选择性。在这项工作中，我们研究了在常用的工业阳离子交换树脂Amberlyst-15上进行低聚反应的详细动力学。发现在反应中形成巴豆醛和随后的重度醇醛。反应过程中形成的低聚物的分子量分布用弗洛里（Flory）统计方法验证。动力学研究是在343-363 K的温度范围内的高压釜中进行的。研究了不同参数（例如温度，浓度，催化剂负载和催化剂可重复使用性）的影响。