The present invention provides a method for efficiently manufacturing a phosphonate ester by phosphonylating an alcohol under mild conditions, and a method for manufacturing a phosphate ester. In the method for manufacturing a phosphonate ester of the present invention, a compound represented by the formula (1) is reacted with a compound represented by the formula (2) in the presence of a zinc catalyst to obtain a compound represented by the formula (3).

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X represents an organic group. R.sup.1 represents an alkyl group. R.sup.2 represents an organic group.

The invention relates to a process for preparing a carboxylic ester by reacting an aldehyde in the presence of an aluminum alkoxide, wherein the aluminum alkoxide is obtained either by reacting an aluminum hydride with an aldehyde or by reacting a different aluminum alkoxide with a carboxylic ester.

The invention relates to a process for preparing an aromatic carbonate, comprising reacting a dialkyl carbonate or an alkyl aryl carbonate with an aryl alcohol or an alkyl aryl carbonate, resulting in an aromatic carbonate which is an alkyl aryl carbonate or a diaryl carbonate, wherein a composition comprising a titanium or zirconium alkoxide or aryloxide, wherein the alkoxy group in the titanium or zirconium alkoxide is a group of formula R-0˜ wherein R is an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms and the aryloxy group in the titanium or zirconium aryloxide is a group of formula Ar-0˜ wherein Ar is an aryl group having 6 to 12 carbon atoms, and wherein the composition additionally comprises 0.1 to 50 wt. % of an alcohol, based on the total weight of the composition, is mixed with an alcohol or an organic carbonate, and the mixture thus obtained is contacted with said dialkyl carbonate or alkyl aryl carbonate and aryl alcohol or alkyl aryl carbonate to catalyze the preparation of the aromatic carbonate. Further, the invention relates to a process for making a polycarbonate from the diaryl carbonate thus prepared.

What is provided is a production method in which a vinyl acetate is reacted with a primary or secondary alcohol represented by Formula (1) and carbon monoxide to produce a first ester compound represented by Formula (2), and the first ester compound is reacted with an alcohol to produce a lactic acid ester represented by Formula (3) and an acetic acid ester represented by Formula (4).

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A method of making solid acid catalysts includes the step of sulfonating waste tire pieces in a first sulfonation step. The sulfonated waste tire pieces are pyrolyzed to produce carbon composite pieces having a pore size less than 10 nm. The carbon composite pieces are then ground to produce carbon composite powders having a size less than 50 μm. The carbon composite particles are sulfonated in a second sulfonation step to produce sulfonated solid acid catalysts. A method of making biofuels and solid acid catalysts are also disclosed.

An improved process for acid-catalyzed acylation using water-tolerant Lewis acid catalysts is described. The method involves reacting a reduction products of 5-(hydroxylmethyl)-furfural (HMF), in particular either furan-2,5-dimethanol (FDM) or bis-2,5-(hydroxymethyl)-tetrahydrofuran (bHMTHFs), with an excess of an organic acid in the presence of a Lewis acid metal triflate at a temperature and time sufficient to produce esters. The conversions of the reduction products of HMF to corresponding diesters can be quantitative with certain favored Lewis acids catalysts.

In an embodiment, a method of producing a bisphenol comprises reacting a phenolic compound with a reactant comprising one or both of an aldehyde and a ketone in the presence of a catalyst system and methanol to produce the bisphenol; wherein the methanol is present in an amount of 250 to 5,000 ppm based on the total weight of the reactant; wherein the catalyst system comprises an ion-exchange resin comprising a plurality of sulfonic acid sites; and 5 to 35 mol % of an attached promoter molecule based on the total moles of the sulfonic acid sites in the catalyst system; and wherein the attached promoter molecule comprises at least two thiol groups per attached promoter molecule.

Subject of the invention is a process for producing a biofuel from fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) obtained by transesterification of vegetable oils, comprising the steps of (a) ethenolysis of the fatty acid methyl esters in the presence of ethylene and an ethenolysis catalyst, and (b) isomerizing metathesis in the presence of an isomerization catalyst and a metathesis catalyst.

The invention also relates to biofuels obtainable by the inventive process and to uses of ethylene for adjusting and optimizing biofuels.

Provided is a catalyst for transesterification reactions, which contains an iron salen complex. Also provided is a method for producing an ester compound, which is characterized by carrying out a transesterification reaction between a starting material ester and a starting material alcohol with use of the catalyst.

A catalytic process for synthesizing an ester compound, and a catalytic process for synthesizing an amide compound, wherein a solid-supported palladium catalyst is used to catalyze an alkoxycarbonylation reaction of an aryl halide to form the ester compound, or to catalyze an aminocarbonylation reaction of an aryl halide to form the amide compound. Various embodiments of each of the processes are also provided.