Patent ID: 7465822

Claim:
A process for producing a product comprising a lower alkyl ester of a lower aliphatic carboxylic acid having the formula R 1 —COO—R 2 comprising reacting a lower alkyl ether having the formula R 1 —O—R 2 in which R 1 and R 2 are independently C 1 -C 6 alkyl groups, provided that the total number of carbon atoms in groups R 1 and R 2 is from 2 to 12, with a carbon monoxide-containing feed under substantially anhydrous conditions in the presence of a catalyst comprising a zeolite having at least one 8-member ring channel, said 8-member ring channel being interconnected with a channel defined by a ring with greater than or equal to 8 members, said 8-member ring having a window size of at least 2.5 Angstroms×at least 3.6 Angstroms and at least one Brønsted acid site and which zeolite has a silica: X2O3 molar ratio of at least 5, wherein X is selected from aluminium, boron, iron, gallium and mixtures thereof.