In this paper, an extensive study of ethyl acetate synthesis by homogeneously catalyzed reactive distillation is presented. Reactive distillation is a promising operation whereby reaction and separation take place within a single distillation column. The synergistic effect of this combination has the potential to increase conversion, improve selectivity and facilitate separation tasks. The feasibility of ethyl acetate synthesis is examined using the reactive distillation lines diagram. A completely rate-based simulator DESIGNER developed within the framework of a large European research project is used in order to predict concentrations, temperatures and other important process variables. In order to validate theoretical predictions, a set of reactive distillation experiments is performed in a glass tray column with 80 bubble cap trays, The concentrations and temperature profiles computed by DESIGNER agree well with the experimental data.