Modification of soybean oil for intermediates by epoxidation, alcoholysis and amidation

Vegetable oils are a major source of many base chemicals. Unfortunately, most vegetable oils exhibit lower thermal and oxidation stability because of double bonds and even worse low-temperature behaviors. These physical and chemical properties can be improved by various chemical modifications. The catalytic hydrogenation of soybean oil (SBO) over 25% Ni/SiO2 and 5% Pt/C is one of them, and the epoxidation of soybean oil and reduced soybean oil (RSBO) was carried out by using 30% of hydrogen peroxide and acetic acid in the presence of conc. sulfuric acid, and/or acidic Amberlyst 15 resin catalyst. Various alcohols and amines were added to the epoxidized soybean oil (ESBO) in the hope of improving lubricant properties. The reaction products were carefully analyzed by means of H-1-NMR, FT-IR spectroscopies and GC-MS spectrometry. This paper covers the epoxidation of virgin and RSBOs, alcoholysis and amidation of ESBO and SBO. Finally, the structures of cross linked products synthesized from ESBO and SBO with 1,6-hexamethylendiamine were proposed.