Microwave-assisted preparation of naphthenic acid esters

The synthesis of esters of natural petroleum acids of the naphthenic type assisted with microwave irradiation under the conditions of acid catalysis was car- ried out with various alcohols: methanol, ethanol, n-butanol and tert-butyl alcohol. Microwave dielectric heating of the reaction mixture in an unmodified microwave oven with activation of the naphthenic acids with sulfuric and p-toluenesulfonic acid afforded the esters of the naphthenic acids. Depending on the catalyst and the steric and nucleophilic properties of the alcohols, the yield of naphthenic esters ranged from 31.25 % to 88.90 %. As a consequence of microwave dielectric heating, the esterification time was reduced from 6-10 h to 5 min.