Optimisation of Epoxide Ring-Opening Reaction for the Synthesis of Bio-Polyol from Palm Oil Derivative Using Response Surface Methodology

Abstract

The development of bio-polyol from vegetable oil and its derivatives is gaining much interest from polyurethane industries and academia. In view of this, the availability of methyl oleate derived from palm oil, which is aimed at biodiesel production, provides an excellent feedstock to produce bio-polyol for polyurethane applications. In this recent study, response surface methodology (RSM) with a combination of central composite rotatable design (CCRD) was used to optimise the reaction parameters in order to obtain a maximised hydroxyl value (OHV). Three reaction parameters were selected, namely the mole ratio of epoxidised methyl oleate (EMO) to glycerol (1:5–1:10), the amount of catalyst loading (0.15–0.55%) and reaction temperature (90–150 °C) on a response variable as the hydroxyl value (OHV). The analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that the quadratic model was significant at 98% confidence level with (p-value > 0.0001) with an insignificant lack of fit and the regression coefficient (R2) was 0.9897. The optimum reaction conditions established by the predicted model were: 1:10 mole ratio of EMO to glycerol, 0.18% of catalyst and 120 °C reaction temperature, giving a hydroxyl value (OHV) of 306.190 mg KOH/g for the experimental value and 301.248 mg KOH/g for the predicted value. This result proves that the RSM model is capable of forecasting the relevant response. FTIR analysis was employed to monitor the changes of functional group for each synthesis and the confirmation of this finding was analysed by NMR analysis. The viscosity and average molecular weight (MW) were 513.48 mPa and 491 Da, respectively.

Formulation and Characterization of O/W Nanoemulsions of Hemp Seed Oil for Protection from Steatohepatitis: Analysis of Hepatic Free Fatty Acids and Oxidation Markers

“…The viscosity is one of the important physical properties of nanoemulsions [ 55 ]. The viscosity of the nanoemulsion formulations was determined using Brookfield rheometer and a Brookfield viscometer R/S+RHEOMETER (Brorokfield Inc., Brookfield, MA, USA) with spindle number CC 14 rotating at 5 rpm at a fixed temperature = 37 °C for a run time equal to 10 s [ 56 ].…”

Isopropyl‐branched lard and its potential application as a bio‐based lubricant

“…[8][9][10][11] To overcome these shortcomings, it has become a common practice to chemically modify the vegetable oils, taking advantage of the abundance and reactivity of the double bonds and glycerol ester functional groups. 12,13 Chemical reactions directed to the double bonds have led to the formation of epoxidized or ringopened vegetable oils, [14][15][16][17] estolides, [18][19][20] and alkyl branched fatty acid esters. [21][22][23] Similarly, chemical reactions directed at the ester moiety have led to the replacement of the glycerol moiety with more stable polyol stucture including trimethylolpropane, neopentyl glycol and pentaerythritol.…”

Application of Response Surface Methodology for Optimization of the Biosorption Process from Copper-Containing Wastewater

“…The experimental workload can be reduced by using statistical design. Among RSM designs, central composite design (CCD) is the most widely used approach for statistical process optimization [ 26 , 27 , 28 ]. This experimental methodology generates a mathematical model to estimate the connection between the variable and the response variables.…”