Patent ID: 7557241

Claim:
A method for producing an α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid ester, the method comprising: (1) causing an alcohol (A) to react with an α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid or a lower alkyl ester (B) of the α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid (B) by flow processing in the presence of a sulfonic acid group-carrying inorganic porous material (α), and (2) removing water or lower alcohol generated as a result of the reaction between the (A) and the (B) from the reaction mixture obtained, wherein the steps (1) and (2) are repeated 3 to 200 times, a functional group on a surface of the inorganic porous material is covalently bonded with a sulfonic acid group-containing entity, and the sulfonic acid group-carrying inorganic porous material (α) is obtained by causing an inorganic porous material to react with at least one of sulfonic acid precursor group-containing compounds so that a sulfonic acid precursor group-carrying inorganic porous material is obtained, and thereafter transforming the sulfonic acid precursor group to a sulfonic acid group.