Low-Temperature Esterification to Produce Oleic Acid-Based Wax Esters Catalyzed by 4-Dodecylbenzenesulfonic Acid

Zhenzhen Li,Guolong Yang,Wei Liu

doi:10.3390/catal11121471

Zhenzhen Li, Guolong Yang + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/catal11121471

Copy DOI

Abstract

Synthesized oleic acid-based wax esters (e.g., cetyl oleate), which can replace spermaceti oil or jojoba oil, have been widely used in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and other industries. In this work, 4-dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid (DBSA) has been successfully used as an efficient catalyst to synthesize oleic acid-based wax esters through esterification at 40 °C under solvent-free conditions. A 93.6% conversion rate of cetyl alcohol was obtained under optimal conditions: 10 mol% DBSA, a molar ratio of 1.3:1 oleic acid to alcohol, a reaction temperature 40 °C and a reaction time of 4 h. The effect of water content on esterification was investigated, and it was found that the inhibitory effect of water decreased significantly with increasing temperature. Moreover, DBSA-catalyzed esterification could be applied in the production of various oleic acid-based wax esters and excellent conversion (>90%) to esters was obtained under such mild conditions. DBSA-catalyzed low-temperature esterification is an efficient method for the production of liquid wax esters.

Highlights

Dodecylbenzenesulfonic Acid.Wax esters are long-chain esters of alcohols and fatty acids with more than 12 carbon atoms [1]
The fatty acid composition of fatty acids prepared from high-oleic sunflower seed oil was determined by gas chromatogram (GC)
The results showed that the saturated fatty acid content was only 7.9%

Summary

Introduction

Wax esters are long-chain esters of alcohols and fatty acids with more than 12 carbon atoms [1]. Due to their non-toxic properties, biodegradability and excellent wetting behaviors in interfaces, wax esters (including solid wax esters and liquid wax esters) have been applied in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and lubricant industries [2,3,4,5]. Natural sources of liquid wax esters range from animals to plants, such as sperm whales and jojoba oil [6]. After the global ban to stop whaling, jojoba oil became the primary natural source for liquid wax esters [7]. It is highly desirable to synthesize liquid wax esters as jojoba oil analogues for various industry applications

Objectives

Results

Conclusion