Aquivion perfluorosulfonic superacid as an effective catalyst for selective epoxidation of vegetable oils

The acid-promoted epoxidation of vegetable oils was studied using a variety of acidic ion exchange resins as heterogeneous acid catalysts. Quantitative and selective epoxidation of a series of vegetable oils with different composition of saturated, mono-, di- and tri-unsaturated fatty acids was obtained upon identification of the more efficient catalyst and experimental conditions. Furthermore, optimized reaction conditions were successfully applied to the epoxidation of a waste cooking oil, thus extending our procedure to the valorization of a biowaste, an area of increasing importance within a more sustainable society. The use of quantitative (HNMR)-H-1 besides making accurate evaluation of the amounts of reagents to be employed and of the selectivity, allowed facile and rapid quantification of mono-, di- and tri-epoxides, thus providing an indirect indication on the fatty acid composition of the vegetable oils, even in the presence of very low quantities of linolenic acid.

Automated summary

Heterogeneous acid catalysts, including various acidic ion exchange resins, were utilized to study the acid-promoted epoxidation of vegetable oils. The more efficient catalyst and experimental conditions were identified to achieve quantitative and selective epoxidation of different types of vegetable oils with varying compositions of saturated, mono-, di-, and tri-unsaturated fatty acids. The optimized reaction conditions were successfully applied to the epoxidation of waste cooking oil, contributing to the valorization of biowaste in a sustainable society. The use of quantitative HNMR-H-1 facilitated accurate evaluation of reagent amounts, selectivity, and quantification of mono-, di-, and tri-epoxides, providing insights into the fatty acid composition of vegetable oils even with low quantities of linolenic acid present.