Gas absorption by methyl oleate and its stereo-isomer

Abstract

It was reported in the preceding publications1), Z), 3), that oily substances like glycerides, sperm waxes, etc. absorb much more amount of gases (oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide) than water does. However, these oily matters differed considerably one from another, in the capacity of absorbing a gas (solubility) and especially in the rate of gas absorption. From these results, it became almost clear that the esters of higher fatty acids with higher monovalent alcohols which constitute the natural components of sperm wax, show conspicuously higher absorbing capacity and especially higher absorption rate than ordinary glycerides. Apart from a possible role that such substances might play in the physiology of the sperm whale, a question arose to the author: what causes the capacity and the rate of gas absorption to differ so much among oily substances. At the outset, it occurred to the author that these properties might be related to the length, or at least, to the shape of molecules which constitute these oily substances. One way to verify this hypothetical idea, seems to make comparison between a pair of substances which are cis-trans isomers to each other. The present article is concerned chiefly with a research on the absorption of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and oxygen by methyl oleate and its trans-isomer, methyl elaidate. In addition, absorption of these gases by free oleic acid and water was also investigated for comparison.