The present invention relates to a
transesterification process comprising reacting an
alkyl ester (a) of a
carboxylic acid of formula 1a or 1b (R1-C (O) O-R2 (formula 1a) R2-O (O) C-R3-C (O) O-R2 (formula 1b) wherein R1 and R3 are saturated or unsaturated, branched or linear aliphatic or aromatic or alkoxylated residues, and R2 is selected from the group consisting of methyl, ethyl, propyl,
isopropyl and n-butyl) with a monofunctional
alcohol (b1) having formula 2 (R4-OH (formula 2) wherein R4 is a linear or branched, saturated or unsaturated
alkyl group) or a monofunctional
alcohol (b2) selected from the group consisting of
glycerol, 1, 3-
propanediol, 1, 2-
propanediol,
ethylene glycol, 1, 2-
butanediol, 1, 4-
butanediol, 2, 4-
butanediol, 1, 3-
propanediol, 1, 3-propanediol, 1, 4-butanediol, 1, 3-propanediol, 1, 3-propanediol, 1, 3-propanediol, 1, 3-propanediol, 1, 3-propanediol, 1, 3-propanediol, 1, 3-propanediol, 1, 3-propanediol, 1, 3-propanediol, 1, 3- A polyfunctional
alcohol (b2) comprising 1, 3-butanediol is treated in the presence of catalysts
lithium hydroxide and
magnesium oxide (MgO) and optionally
sodium hypophosphite. The use of specific catalyst compositions enables a more efficient energy saving process compared to standard prior art
transesterification processes.