Question

Give the conversion chemical reaction for Butanoic acid from ethanol?

Answer 1

Hint: We know that it's a type of an esterification reaction which is performed under conditions that drive off the water molecule and the hydrocarbon group is replaced. Carboxylic acids and alcohols are often warmed together in the presence of a few drops of concentrated sulphuric acid in order to observe the smell of the esters formed.

Complete answer:
Ethanol is an alcohol as well as butanoic acid is a carboxylic acid. Ethanols, butanoic acid, react when it is in presence of the sulfuric acid. It gives the ester, ethyl Butanoate as their byproduct. Butanoic acid will react with alcohols in the presence of concentrated sulfuric acid, to form esters. Concentrated sulfuric acid is a catalyst for this reaction. Ethanol reacts with butanoic acid in the presence of concentrated $ {{H}_{2}}S{{O}_{4}} $ and give ethyl ethanoate as ester and water as products. Ethyl butyrate is a butyrate ester resulting from the formal condensation of the hydroxyl group of ethanol with the carboxyl group of butyric acid. It has a role as a plant metabolite. The reaction goes like:
 $ Ethanol\text{ }+\text{ }Butanoic\text{ }acid~\to ~~~ethyl\text{ }Butanoate\text{ }+\text{ }Water $
 $ {{C}_{2}}{{H}_{5}}OH+{{C}_{3}}{{H}_{7}}C{{O}_{2}}H\to {{C}_{3}}{{H}_{7}}C{{O}_{2}}{{C}_{2}}{{H}_{5}}+{{H}_{2}}O $
In this reaction, the hydrocarbon group i.e. an ethyl group is being replaced with the hydrogen in the $ -COOH $ group of a carboxylic acid in presence of a catalyst. Esters are produced when carboxylic acids are heated with alcohols in the presence of an acid catalyst. The catalyst is usually concentrated sulphuric acid.

Note:
Note that the esterification is the reaction between alcohols and carboxylic acids to make esters. The esterification reaction is both slow and reversible. The equation for the reaction between an acid $ RCOOH $ and an alcohol $ R'OH $ (where $ R $ and $ {{R}^{'}} $ can be either the same or different).