Abstract
This work deals with the preparation of biolubricant basestocks through the ring-opening reaction of epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) by alcohols in presence of solid acid catalysts (SAC-13 resin). To this end, different experimental runs were carried out in a lab-scale reactor, analyzing the effect of the alcohol (methanol, ethanol, 2-propanol, 2-butanol), catalyst mass loading (from 1 to 10 wt % with respect to the oil mass) and operating temperature (60–90 °C). The main focus of investigation was oxirane conversion. The study was complemented by FT-IR, 1H NMR and kinematic viscosity characterization of the different products of the ring-opening reaction. Experimental conversion data were fitted through a suitable kinetic model. Values of the best-fitting parameters in terms of rate constant, activation energy and catalyst reaction order were obtained, and were potentially useful for the design of an industrial process.
Highlights
During the last decade, efficient new technologies aimed at new renewable products have been developed to replace petroleum-derived chemicals due to increasing sustainability and environmental-health concerns
The current work focused on the optimization of the synthesis of biolubricant basestock from epoxidized soybean oil and alcohol using a solid acid catalyst, SAC-13 resin
A second-order rate expression was used to interpret the collected data, finding a non-linear dependency of reaction rate on catalyst concentration, a fact that was described by adopting a power-law expression, which led to an exponent of 2.7
Summary
Efficient new technologies aimed at new renewable products have been developed to replace petroleum-derived chemicals due to increasing sustainability and environmental-health concerns In this context, vegetable oils represent suitable substitutes for replacing conventional mineral oil-based lubricants due to their biodegradability and non-toxicity. There are many methods for improving these undesirable properties, such as the genetic modification of vegetable oil fatty acids; the direct addition of antioxidants, viscosity modifiers, pour point depressants and emulsifiers; and the chemical modification of vegetable oils [3]. Among these methods, the last seems to be the most interesting for improving thermal stability. Chemical modifications mainly involve altering the acyl (C=O) and alkoxy (O–R) functional groups and unsaturations of the triglyceride molecules
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