Abstract

Among the known triglycerides are low molecular weight triacylglycerols, in particular tricaproins, which are an internal marker of vegetable oils and animal fats used to produce biodiesel for agricultural needs. However, there are no simple and accessible methods for the synthesis of tricaproins in high yields in the literature, since the preparation of this compound is often accompanied by the following problems: tarring of the reaction mass, deactivation of the catalyst, low conversion of the starting reagents, loss of the starting reagents due to the formation of emulsions and side compounds. An accessible selective method for producing caproic acid triglyceride with high yield has been developed, the main and side reactions of the synthesis have been studied, the reaction parameters and optimal conditions for the synthesis of the target product have been determined. The work studied various temperature, concentration, time factors and catalysts that affect the yield of caproic acid triglyceride through the esterification reaction of glycerol with caproic acid. The highest yield and conversion of the target product was achieved based on the catalytic interaction of caproic acid with glycerol in the presence of 3 wt% 85% orthophosphoric acid and 5 wt% silicon tripolyphosphate cocatalyst under vacuum. The structure of the resulting tricaproin was confirmed by NMR, mass spectrometry and IR spectroscopy. The pure product is obtained in the form of a transparent thick liquid of light orange or slightly red color. The yield of the final target product is 95%.

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