Dimethyl Terephthalate: Terephthalic Acid and Methanol Sprayed through a Hot Tube

Dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) is the methyl ester of terephthalic acid, a raw material for polyesters. Terephthalic acid does not melt, so Lotz and Gerlach (US 2,876,252, 1959) spray it as a suspension in methanol, with a little phosphoric acid, into a tube heated to 280–300 °C. The ester condenses as long needles that melt at 141 °C; the patent's yield was 97 %. The picture: our diagram.