The invention provides a preparation method of n-propyl
propionate. The method comprises the following steps: S1, adding excessive propionic acid and n-
propanol into a reactive rectification
tower provided with a catalyst, and carrying out reactive rectification to obtain a heterogeneous
reaction product containing n-propyl
propionate and water at the top of the reactive rectification
tower; S2, conveying the heterogeneous
reaction product containing n-propyl
propionate and water into a
phase splitter, extracting the obtained water phase, refluxing a part of the obtained
oil phase, and extracting the remaining part of the
oil phase to obtain n-propyl propionate; and S3, extracting propionic acid from the bottom of the reactive rectification
tower, returning the propionic acid to the propionic acid
raw material inlet of the reactive rectification tower, and continuously reacting the propionic acid with n-
propanol. The excessive propionic acid added into the reactive rectification towermakes the n-
propanol completely reacted, a
gas phase obtained at the tower top is condensed and undergoes
phase splitting to obtain the product n-propyl propionate and a byproduct water, and the remaining propionic acid is extracted from the tower bottom, and is reused. Reduced pressure operation is adopted to effectively reduce the
reaction temperature, prevent the temperature runaway phenomenonof a catalyst and make the catalyst have a good effect; and the method has the advantages of easiness in product separation, good product quality and low device investment.