Novel and pioneering insight towards the synthesis of remarkable tricaproin was endeavored by aqueous phase esterification of caproic acid with glycerol over sulfate promoted iron oxide catalyst. Thcaproin has good solubility with paclitaxel, an anticancer compound for nanoemulsion formation. Catalyst has also displayed tunable selectivity towards tricaproin over variable reaction parameters. The catalyst was characterized using a range of physicochemical methods such as SEM, XRD and FT-IR. Resourceful appliance of central composite design (CCD) from response surface methodology (RSM) scrutinized the interactive effects between relevant process parameters in model system portraying three dimensional surface plots. In this demeanor, caproic acid and glycerol is esterified subsequently to tricaproin with foremost selectivity of 71.6%. Detailed kinetic study was established for scaling up purposes. (C) 2018 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.