Conjugated hydrogenation of triglyceride oil containing conjugated acid

Abstract

AbstractConjugated hydrogenation of tung oil (fatty acid composition: elaeostearic 57.0%, linoleic 25.8%, oleic 11.2% and saturated 6.0%) has been investigated to ascertain the influence of hydrogen donors, namely primary and secondary alcohols, on rate and selectivity under different operating conditions. 2‐Propanol, in general, reflects faster rate and greater degree of reduction but less selectivity towards the reduction of unsaturated acids than ethanol, when tung oil is treated at 200 C, 225 C and 250 C with 2% Ni (optimum catalyst level) and theoretical as well as 100% excess of theoretical amount of the two hydrogen donors to ensure complete hydrogenation of the oil. The rate and degree of reduction with ethanol are less influenced by its amount and amount of catalyst, but with 2‐propanol these depend considerably on both the amount of hydrogen donor and amount of catalyst. During conjugated hydrogenation of tung oil, deposition of gel‐like mass in minor amount occurs only at the wall of the reaction vessel. This is evidently due to polymerization of the conjugated trienoic acid.