Epoxidation of methyl esters from waste vegetable oil by heterogeneous catalysts WO3/Al2O3

• Published in: Molecular catalysis Vol. 569; p. 114519
• Main Authors: Kocík, J., Tišler, Z., Hájek, M., Peroutková, K., Šimek, J., Strejcová, K., Malina, J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01-12-2024
• Subjects: Biolubricants; Epoxidation; Methyl ester; Ternary plots; WO3/Al2O3 catalyst; Biolubricants; Epoxidation; Ternary plots; WO3/Al2O3 catalyst; Methyl ester
• ISSN: 2468-8231; 2468-8231
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mcat.2024.114519

•The different amount of tungsten (0 – 15 wt%) impregnated on Al2O3 was used.•Ternary plots to find the homogeneous region of reaction component were determined.•Changed reaction conditions: solvents, ratio H2O2/CC, amount of catalyst and time.•The results (catalyst characterisation and reaction) were statistically evaluated.•The highest conversion 80 %: 30 wt% of catalyst (15% W), acetonitrile, H2O2/CC two .
The paper describes the catalytic epoxidation of methyl esters of higher fatty acids prepared from waste vegetable oils as a renewable raw material (the second important product is glycerol). Bio-epoxides as "green products" can be used instead of epoxides from crude oil in many applications such as bio-lubricants, biopolymers, polycarbonates, etc. The epoxidation was catalysed by γ-alumina impregnated with tungsten (5–15 wt.%) under different reaction conditions such as the type and amount of solvent (acetonitrile, ethyl acetate and tert‑butanol) and amount of catalysts (0 to 75 wt.% to ester), molar ratio to ester (from 1 to 6) and reaction time (0–24 h). Characterization of tested catalysts was carried out by various analytical methods such as XRF, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, TPD-NH3, N2 physisorption, Hg-porozimetry, SEM-EDX. Moreover, the ternary plot for each solvent was determined to find the homogeneous region since ester and hydrogen peroxide are immiscible liquids. Finally, according to statistical evaluationed, it was found that methyl ester conversion increases with increasing number of WO bonds.
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