Chemical epoxidation of a natural unsaturated epoxy seed oil fromVernonia galamensis and a look at epoxy oil markets

Since 1963, production of all epoxy esters has ranged from 60 to 150 million lb annually, a steady 7% of the 1 to 2 billion lb of annual plasticizer production. Growth rates in production averaged 4.3% for all plasticizers, 3.8% for all epoxy esters and 5.0% for epoxidized soybean oil (ESBO). ESBO accounted for 70–76% of total epoxy ester production (1963–1982). The natural liquid epoxy oil fromVernonia galamensis seed, with oxirane value (4.1%) and viscosity (100 cps) similar to some commercial epoxy fatty esters but with molecular weight similar to epoxidized vegetable oils, combines some of the properties of both commercial types. Chemical epoxidation ofVernonia oil raises the oxirane content to 8.2, intermediate between ESBO and epoxidized linseed oil (ELSO), while consuming less of the costly epoxidizing reagents. Epoxidation proceeds in stepwise fashion through partially epoxidized products, which are converted to final product. Since the major fatty components ofVernonia oil arecis-12,13-epoxy-9-octadecenoic (75%) and linoleic (13%) acids, further epoxidation produces fatty acids that are specifically epoxidized at the 9,10- and 12,13-positions, and the major product has 6 epoxy units per triglyceride molecule. The resulting mixture of products has compositional and physical properties distinctly different from commercial samples of ESBO and ELSO.     

Preparation of meadowfoam dimer acids and dimer esters,and their use as lubricants

Meadowfoam dimer acids have been prepared in a thermal clay-catalyzed reaction. Reaction conditions have been optimized, and yields of 44% were obtained with 2% water and 6–8% of an acid-washed montmorillonite clay, based on the meadowfoam fatty acids. Purity of the distilled dimer acids was 79–89% with most of the remaining 11–22% being residual mono- and tribasic acids. Dimethyl, di-(2-ethylhexyl), and di-n-butyl meadowfoam dimer ester derivatives were also prepared. Color, viscosity, and wear-preventive characteristics of the meadowfoam dimer acids and dimer ester derivatives were compared to those of commercial dimer acids and dimer esters. The viscosity of the meadowfoam dimer acids is similar to that of Empol® 1010, which is also derived from a highly monounsaturated fatty acid source. Viscosities of the meadowfoam dimer esters were also comparable to those of commercial dimer esters. Wear prevention characteristics, as determined by the four-ball test method, of the meadowfoam dimer acids and dimer esters were similar to those of the commercial products. In one case, the di-n-butyl esters, the meadowfoam derivative showed a significantly smaller wear scar than that shown by the di-n-butyl derivative of Unidyme® 14.     

Kinetics of tungsten‐catalyzed sunflower oil epoxidation studied by 1H NMR

Sunflower oil (SO) is a renewable resource that can be epoxidized, and the epoxidized SO has potential uses as an environmentally friendly and reactive material in polymeric formulations, especially for polyvinyl chloride. SO was epoxidized with peracetic acid, which was either preformed or prepared in situ. In order to optimize the formation of oxirane rings, the epoxidation and the extent of the side reactions were studied at different temperatures. The peracetic acid was obtained by acidic catalysis in the presence of a cation‐exchange resin. The optimum conversions were obtained within a 4‐h reaction period at 55 °C by the in situ epoxidation technique. The epoxidation was also carried out with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of peroxotungstic acid complexed with lipophilic phosphorus‐based ligands. ¹H NMR was used to define the new indices Δ and Ω, which are the mean numbers of C=C double bonds and oxirane rings per fatty acid chain, respectively. This allowed monitoring of the reaction and quantification of the results. Peroxotungstic catalysts appeared less performing than peracids in the epoxidation of SO, but were found very efficient for the epoxidation of the SO methyl esters.     

Biodegradation of estolides from monounsaturated fatty acids

Mono- and polyestolides, made from oleic acid, meadowfoam oil fatty acids and erucic acid, were subjected to biodegradation with mixed cultures of Penicillium verucosum, Mucor racemosus, and Enterobacter aerogenes. Fermentations were continued for 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, or 30 d. Meadowfoam oil and its fatty acids, oleic acid and soybean oil were also biodegraded under the same conditions. After 10 d, oleic acid and soybean oil were degraded 99.8 and 99.2%, respectively; meadowfoam oil and its fatty acids were degraded 89.0 and 97.7%, respectively. After 30 d, oleic acid-derived poly- and monoestolides were degraded 98.6 and 90.0%, respectively, meadowfoam estolides were degraded 75.7%, and erucic acid estolides were degraded 84.0%.     

Analysis of hydroxylated fatty acids from plant oils

A novel process has been described recently for the preparation of hydroxylated fatty acids (HOFA) and HOFA methyl esters from plant oils. HOFA methyl esters prepared from conventional and alternative plant oils were characterized by various chromatographic methods (thin-layer chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry as well as¹H and¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. HOFA methyl esters obtained fromEuphorbia lathyris seed oil, low-erucic acid rapeseed oil, and sunflower oil contain as major constituents methylthreo-9,10-dihydroxy octadecanoate (derived from oleic acid) and methyl dihydroxy tetrahydrofuran octadecanoates, e.g., methyl 9,12-dihydroxy-10,13-epoxy octadecanoates and methyl 10,13-dihydroxy-9,12-epoxy octadecanoates (derived from linoleic acid). Other constituents detected in the products include methyl esters of saturated fatty acids (not epoxidized/derivatized) and traces of methyl esters of epoxy fatty acids (not hydrolyzed). The products that contain high levels of monomeric HOFA may find wide application in a variety of technical products.     

The study of natural epoxy oils and epoxidized vegetable oils by13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

The¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance spectra ofVernonia galamensis seed oil and of epoxidized palm super olein, soybean oil and linseed oil have been recorded and interpreted. The chemical shifts of the major signals are assigned and semi-quantitative results are derived. The spectroscopic procedure provides a useful method of analyzing oils that contain epoxy acids. The epoxide function differs from a double bond in its influence on the chemical shifts of nearby carbon atoms.     

Supercritical fluid chromatographic analysis of new crop seed oils and their reactions

Supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) with an open tubular column of nonpolar stationary phase separated triglycerides from crambe, meadowfoam,Euphorbia lagascae, and vernonia oils based on their molecular weight. The triglyceride compositions were consistent with the literature. SFC proved also to be a valuable tool in analyzing lipase-catalyzed transesterification reactions where lesquerella oil and estolides were among the substrates employed. Analyte molecular weights could be estimated from a retention time- (or elution density-) molecular eeight calibration curve. An increase in isothermal column temperature during SFC pressure or density programming improved the resolution of high-molecular-weight (>600 Da) analytes but yielded poorer resolution for analytes of molecular weight <200. A simultaneous pressure and temperature ramping program proved superior in enhancing resolution in several instances. Presented at the AOCS Annual Meeting & Expo, May 1995, San Antonio, Texas. Retired     

γ-Linolenic and stearidonic acids in Mongolian Boraginaceae

Seeds of nine Central Asian species of Boraginaceae were investigated for the first time for their oil content and for the fatty acid composition of their seed oils by capillary gas chromatography. Levels of γ-linolenic acid ranged from 6.6 to 13.0% and levels of stearidonic acid ranged from 2.4 to 21.4% of total seed fatty acids. The seed oil ofHackelia deflexa exhibited the highest stearidonic acid content (21.4%) that has been found so far in nature. Other high contents of this fatty acid were in threeLappula species (17.2 to 18.1%). Seed oils ofCynoglossum divaricatum andAmblynotus rupestris contain considerable amounts ofcis-11-eicosenoic (5.3 to 5.8%) andcis-13-docosenoic acid (7.0 to 9.7%) besides γ-linolenic (10.2 to 13.0%) and stearidonic acid (2.4 to 6.5%), which distinguish these oils from those of other Boraginaceae genera. This paper was presented as a poster at 10th Minisymposium and Workshop on Plant Lipids, Sept. 3–6, 1995, in Berne, Switzerland.     

The effect of fatty acid composition on the acrylation kinetics of epoxidized triacylglycerols

Epoxidized oils, epoxidized triacylglycerols, and epoxidized fatty acid methyl esters were made by reaction with performic acid formed in situ. The extent of epoxidation was ca. 95% for all of the epoxidized samples, as determined by ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance. The epoxidized samples were reacted with an excess of acrylic acid for different reaction times. The acrylation reaction was found to have a first-order dependence on the epoxide concentration for all oils, pure triacylglycerols, and fatty acid methyl esters. However, the rate constant of acrylation was found to depend on the composition of the epoxidized material. The acrylation rate constant for 9,10-epoxystearic acid was 96 L²/(mol²·min). The rate constant of acrylation for the epoxides on 9,10,12,13-diepoxystearic acid was 60 L²/(mol²·min). The acrylation rate constant for the epoxides on 9,10,12,13,15,16-triepoxystearic acid was 50 L²/(mol²·min). Thus, the rate constant of acrylation increased as the number of epoxides per fotty acid decreased. Multiple epoxides per fatty acid decrease the reactivity of the epoxides because of steric hindrance effects, and the oxonium ion, formed as an intermediate during the epoxyacrylic acid reaction, is stabilized by local epoxide groups. These results were used to derive an acrylation kinetic model that predicts rate constants from fatty acid distributions in the oil. The predictions of the model closely match the experimentally determined rate constants.     

Degumming and bleaching ofLesquerella fendleri seed oil

A lesquerella species (Lesquerella fendleri) being investigated as a domestic source of seed oil containing hydroxy fatty acids shows good agronomic properties and is being tested in semi-commercial production.Lesquerella fendleri seeds contain 25% oil, of which 55% is lesquerolic acid (14-hydroxy-cis-11-eicosenoic). Oils produced in pilot-plant quantities by screw press, prepress-solvent extraction and extrusion-solvent extraction processes have been refined in the laboratory by filtering, degumming and bleaching. Two American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS) standard bleaching earths and two commercial earths were compared for effectiveness in bleaching these dark, yellow-red, crude lesquerella oils. Free fatty acids (1.3%), iodine value (111), peroxide value (<4 meq/kg), unsaponifiables (1.7%) and hydroxyl value (100) were not significantly affected by degumming and bleaching, but phosphorus levels of 8–85 ppm in the crude oils were reduced to 0.5–1.1 ppm in the degummed and bleached oils. Crude oils had Gardner colors of 14, which were reduced to Gardner 9–11 in the degummed and bleached oil, depending on bleach type and quantity used. AOCS colors in the range of 21–25R 68–71Y were obtained. By including charcoal in the bleaching step, a considerably lighter oil could be obtained (Gardner 7).     

Vulcanized meadowfoam oil

The factice gelation time for meadowfoam oil, along with hardness, color, acetone extract and free sulfur content of the gelled products were compared with gelation time and product properties of factice prepared from seed oils of rapeseed, crambe, soybean, castor,Lesquerella and jojoba. The effect of additives, specifically zinc oxide, magnesium oxide, triethylamine, dicyclohexylamine, 2-mercaptobenzothiazole and iodine, was also investigated. Both white and brown factices could be prepared from meadowfoam oil and their properties were equivalent to or better than those from high erucic acid rapeseed oil used commercially for the highest quality factice. Presented at the Association for the Advancement of Industrial Crops 1st Annual Conference in Peoria, Illinois, October 2–6, 1989.     

Preparative chromatographic isolation of hydroxy acids fromLesquerella fendleri andL. gordonii seed oils

To conduct product development research onLesquerella seed oils, we explored methods to obtain >100 g quantities of lesquerolic (14-hydroxy-cis-11-eicosenoic) acid. Preliminary experiments with open-column silica gel chromatography showed thatL. fendleri oil could be separated into 3 triglyceride (TG) fractions. The first (10%) contained nonhydroxy 16-(13%) and 18-carbon acids (65% 18∶1,2,3). The second fraction (15%) contained monolesquerolins (39% lesquerolic acid). The major TG fraction (73%) was mainly dilesquerolins (66% lesquerolic acid) showing that a hydroxy acid-enriched TG oil was obtainable by this procedure. Silica gel chromatography easily separatedL. fendleri fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) into a hydroxy-free ester fraction (40–44%) consisting largely of 18∶1 (39%), 18∶2 (19%) and 18∶3 (31%), and a hydroxy ester fraction (56–60%) that was largely methyl lesquerolate (94%) with small amounts of auricolate (5%) (14-hydroxy-cis-11,cis-17-eicosadienoate) and traces of 18-carbon hydroxy esters. This process for isolating the hydroxy FAME ofLesquerella oil was scaled up 15-to 100-fold with a preparative high performance liquid chromatograph. Thirty-gram samples ofL. gordonii FAME were dissolved in eluting solvent, pumped onto the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) silica column and eluted with 97∶3 hexane/ethyl acetate. In an 8-hr period, up to 200 g of methyl lesquerolate could be obtained with a purity >98%, the only contaminants being methyl auricolate and methyl ricinoleate. Presented at the AOCS meeting in Phoenix, AZ, May 1988. The mention of firm names or trade products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture over other firms or similar products not mentioned.     

Estolides from meadowfoam oil fatty acids and other monounsaturated fatty acids

The formation of estolides was detected during the studies on dimerization of meadowfoam oil fatty acids. By adjusting the reaction conditions, it was possible to produce monoestolides with little dimer or trimer formations. Estolides have potential use in lubricant, cosmetic and ink formulations and in plasticizers. This paper reports the conditions for production of estolides from mixed meadow-foam fatty acids, commercial oleic acid, high-oleic sun-flower oil fatty acids,cis-5,cis-13-docosadienoic acid, petroselinic acid and linoleic acid.     

Rubber-toughening epoxy thermosets with epoxidized crambe oil

Epoxidized crambe oil and rapeseed oil were synthesized by reaction of the oils with m-chloroperoxybenzoic acid. Formulating the neat epoxidized oils with epoxy-amine systems gave two-phase thermosets with epoxidized crambe oil, but not with epoxidized rapeseed oil. Glass transition temperature, mechanical properties, and fracture toughness of the epoxidized crambe oil thermoset specimen were measured. Fracture toughness values of the epoxy thermosets were increased approximately 100% by both 5 and 10% epoxidized crambe oil. Glass transition temperature and mechanical properties were affected only modestly.     

Preparation of fatty amide polyols <Emphasis Type="Italic">via</Emphasis> epoxidation of vegetable oil amides by oat seed peroxygenase

Prior work has shown that oat (Avena sativa) seeds are a rich source of peroxygenase, an enzyme that promotes the oxidation of carbon-carbon double bonds to form epoxides. Ground and defatted oat seeds were used as a low-cost source of peroxygenase. A systematic study of the epoxidation of i-butyl amides from linseed oil was conducted. Hexane was used as the primary component of the reaction media to eliminate the need for extraction. We found that the addition of a small amount of buffered water containing Tween 20 enhanced the epoxidation activity when using t-butyl hydroperoxide and cumene hydroperoxide as oxidants. This activity could be further enhanced by the addition of isopropyl ether. Conditions for larger-scale reactions were developed and applied to amides prepared from linseed, soybean, and canola oils. Because of enzymatic selectivity, the epoxidation of adjacent double bonds was low, and monoepoxides from the amides of oleate and linoleate predominated; the diepoxide, N-i-butyl-9,10–15,16-diepoxy-12(Z)-octadecenamide, was obtained from the amide of linolenate. The enzymatically epoxidized amides from the oils were hydrolyzed in dilute acid, and the distribution of the various classes of polyols was determined. Reflecting the high proportion of starting monoepoxides, saturated diols and diols with one double bond were the major polyols obtained from soybean and canola oils. Because linseed oil contains a high proportion of linolenate, polyols obtained from the epoxides of this oil had a major amount of the tetrol, N-i-butyl-9,10,15,16-tetrahydroxy-12(Z)-octadecenamide. In contrast, the components of polyols obtained from the hydrolysis of commercial epoxide preparations of soybean and linseed methyl esters followed by amide formation were primarily saturated diols and furan derivatives resulting from the presence of adjacent epoxide groups in these preparations.     

Synthesis and characterization of low viscous and highly acrylated epoxidized methyl ester based green adhesives derived from linseed oil

Both epoxidized linseed oil and transesterified epoxidized linseed oil were acrylated to form UV curable bio-based oligomers. The synthesis was confirmed by FTIR and ¹H NMR and oxirane oxygen content (OOC). The OOC value of epoxidized linseed oil was determined to be 8.2 % which was reduced to 8.0 % after transesterification confirming the retaining of epoxy groups. The lower OOC of acrylated epoxidized linseed oil (AELO) (2.1 %) and acrylated epoxy methyl esters (AEME) (0.9 %) revealed successful acrylation. The degree of acrylation in AEME was higher (~ 90 %) than AELO (~ 77%) and most importantly, the viscosity of AEME was much lower than AELO revealing better processability for industrial use.     

Effects of Vegetable Oil Composition on Epoxidation Kinetics and Physical Properties

In this article, we investigate the role of triacylglycerol composition on the properties of epoxidized vegetable oils and the kinetics of the epoxidation process under conditions comparable to commercial epoxidation. Commodity soybean oil (24% oleic acid, 50% linoleic acid, and 7% linolenic acid), high‐oleic soybean oil (75% oleic acid, 8% linoleic acid, and 2.5% linolenic acid), and linseed oil (11% oleic acid, 15% linoleic acid, and 64% linolenic acid) were each epoxidized to various extents. Epoxidation rate, viscosity, differential calorimetry, and X‐ray diffraction data are presented for these oils and interpreted in the context of their fatty acid profile (mostly oleic, linoleic, or linolenic). While fully epoxidized soybean oil is widely commercially available and used in an increasing array of industrial applications, information relating to partially epoxidized oils and epoxidized oils of other cultivars is less well known.     

Revisiting the Enzymatic Epoxidation of Vegetable Oils by Perfatty Acid: Perbutyric Acid Effect on the Oil with Low Acid Value

Enzymatic epoxidation of vegetable oils in the presence of free fatty acids has been well studied in recent years, by mainly using long chain fatty acids (e.g., stearic acid) as the active oxygen carrier. However, for the previous enzymatic processes, the acid value (AV) of final epoxidized oils using long chain fatty acids is high, and the free fatty acid is not easily removed in the post treatment with water. Aiming at developing a more sustainable process, enzymatic epoxidation of sunflower oil was revisited using different free fatty acids catalyzed by Novozym 435 (lipase B from Candida antarctica, provided by Novozymes, Bagsvaerd, Denmark). When long chain stearic acid was introduced into the epoxidation in toluene solvent, the epoxy oxygen group content (EOC) of 6.41 ± 0.19 % was obtained. Due to the poor water solubility of stearic acid, the AV of the final epoxidized oil product was very high (53.40 ± 1.34) after it was washed with water. Alternatively, current study shows that the epoxidation process using short chain butyric acid produced the final epoxidized oil with lower AV of 2.57 ± 0.11. When the enzymatic epoxidation of sunflower oil was optimized in the presence of butyric acid and Novozym 435, EOC of 6.84 ± 0.21 % was obtained, reaching an oxriane conversion of 96.4 ± 3.0 %. Therefore, introducing short chain butyric acid as an active oxygen carrier will provide an alternative to the present enzymatic epoxidation process and produce the desired epoxidized oil products with much lower AV only after simple water‐treatments, which will make the enzymatic epoxidation more attractive.     

FA composition and regiospecific analysis of Acer saccharum (sugar maple tree) and Acer saccharinum (silver maple tree) seed oils

GC analysis was performed to determine regiospecific distribution and FA composition in seed oils of the Aceraceae species, Acer saccharum and A. saccharinum. The oil content in the seeds was low at 5.0% in A. saccharum and 5.8% in A. saccharinum, and the main FA were linoleic (30.8 and 29.4%), oleic (21.3 and 27.6%), palmitic (10.1 and 10.5%), and cis-vaccenic (9.4 and 7.9%) acids, respectively. In addition, both oils contained long-chain monoenes of the n−9 and n−7 groups, including 11-eicosenoic, 13-docosenoic, 15-tetracosenoic, 13-eicosenoic, and 15-docosenoic acids, whereas γ-linolenic acid accounted for 0.8% of total FA in A. saccharum, and 0.5% in A. saccharinum. Regiospecific analysis, performed using the methodology of dibutyroyl derivatives of MAG, indicated that linoleic, oleic, and linolenic acids were mainly esterified at the internal position of TAG in both seed oils, whereas long-chain monoenes of the n−7 group were almost exclusively esterified on the external positions.