Intensification of synthesis of triglyceride of Decanoic acid in the presence of amberlyst 15 as catalyst based on the use of ultrasound and microwave irradiations

Abstract

In the current study, intensified synthesis of triglycerides of decanoic acid in the presence of amberlyst-15 as catalyst has been investigated using different approaches based on ultrasound and microwave irradiations. Effect of various reaction parameters like molar ratio, reaction temperature, and amberlyst-15 loading on the conversion is studied. The maximum conversion of 99.4% was observed in sequential approach of sonication followed by microwave in overall reaction time of 24 min with reaction parameters as molar ratio of 3:5, reaction temperature 60ºC and amberlyst-15 loading of 4%. The individual sonication-based synthesis gave 92% conversion in 180 min whereas the individual microwave-based synthesis resulted in 96% conversion in 120 min. The conventional synthesis based on only stirring gave 85.6% conversion in 19 hours. Recyclability of amberlyst-15 was also studied for the sequential approach and it was demonstrated that Amberlyst-15 could be reused effectively for 8 cycles without any change in conversion. Overall, it was established that the combined use of sonication and microwave resulted in significant intensification for the synthesis of triglyceride of decanoic acid using amberlyst-15 as the catalyst.