BACKGROUNDButyl butyrate is an environmentally friendly biofuel component that can be produced through the esterification of butyric acid with n-butanol, both of which are obtainable from waste products. The reaction can be optimized by commercial catalysts; however they are currently hindered by issues such as environmental sustainability and cost. Thus, efforts have been made to develop catalysts with green characteristics by incomplete carbonization and sulfonation of pyrolysis products. RESULTSActivated and non-activated catalysts were produced by sulfonation of char obtained from the carbonization of Miscanthus x giganteus to catalyze the production of butyl butyrate. The char surface area increased from 6.4 to 571m(2)g(-1) after chemical activation at 500 degrees C. Non-activated catalysts derived from char carbonized at 500 degrees C gave a yield of 94.5% after 24h reaction, close to that achieved with H2SO4 (96%). Furthermore, the kinetic parameters associated with the production of butyl butyrate were derived with the implementation of a kinetic model. CONCLUSIONChemical activation increased the surface area of the char but, due to the prolonged treatment at high temperatures, produced less polycyclic aromatic carbons available to be functionalized. This resulted in a lower acid density and an inferior performance. Conversely, activated catalysts displayed better recovery and reusability. (c) 2015 Society of Chemical Industry