Kinetic studies on the liquid phase esterification Of C-3 and C-4 alcohols on acetic acid were carried out over zeolites H beta, HY and HZSM5. The aims of this study were to arrive at the reaction mechanism from the kinetic data and to investigate the effects of the type of alcohol and zeolite type on the reaction mechanism. Zeolite HP was found to be the most active for this reaction. The acidity of zeolite determines the extent of the esterification reaction. The esterification reaction was found to follow the Eley-Rideal pathway. Acetic acid is activated by adsorption on the zeolite acid site, which then reacts with the alcohol in the bulk to form the corresponding acetate. (c) 2005 Published by Elsevier B.V.