Pseudo-homogeneous Kinetic Evaluation for in-situ Epoxidation of Oleic Acid

Abstract

Abstract Epoxidation of unsaturated fatty materials is useful route to synthesize valuable material especially bio-based polymers. Oleic acid (OA, iodine value of 90 gram I2/100 gram) is the most common unsaturated fatty material that can be found in vegetable oils or animal fats. Epoxidation of oleic acid with peracetic acid generated in-situ has been performed in batch system. Kinetic evaluation was conducted by varying the reaction temperature from 40 to 70 °C under constant value of stirring speed, H2O2:OA molar ratio, acetic acid:OA molar ratio, and catalyst concentration. Double bond conversion, oxirane yield, and selectivity of oxirane has been evaluated. The result shows that the degree of side reaction (ie: ring opening) is high in temperature of 60 and 70 °C. Pseudo-homogeneous kinetic model is well fitted in 40 and 50 °C but it gives significant deviation in 60 and 70 °C. The activation energy of oleic acid epoxidation has been found to be 62.2 kJ/mol.