Determination of the degree of substitution (DS) of mixed cellulose esters by elemental analysis

Equations for transforming the results of elemental analysis (EA) into degree of substitution (DS) values for aliphatic cellulose esters were developed. The equations allow to determine the DS of cellulose derivatives bearing not only one but also two different acyl substituents. Error transmission studies revealed that the accuracy of the DS-values for a pure sample depends on both the number of carbon atoms in the substituents and on the uncertainty of the EA, especially from the hydrogen content. This method provides accurate DS-values (± 0.10 in most cases) if H-content determinations are within ± 0.1

Interactions with water of mixed acetic-fatty cellulose esters

Cellulose powder was acylated with mixtures containing acetic, fatty and acetic-fatty anhydrides to form acetic-fatty cellulose esters. The total degree of substitution (DS) of the mixed cellulose esters (MCE) ranged from 2x10-2 to 2.92. MCE were characterized by their interactions with water. Static contact angles with water were measured on a regular smooth surface. The values found were dependent on the fatty acyl content and independent of the acetyl content. In the case of acetic-oleic cellulose esters, the minimum DS of the oleoyl moiety required to obtain permanent water repellency was 3x10-4. The microporosity of the samples may account for this exceptional hydrophobic character. Nevertheless, water vapor adsorption measurements on powder samples revealed only a limited increase in hydrophobicity of the MCE compared to cellulose acetate with the same acetyl content. It was thus demonstrated that water repellency and vapor water adsorption are not correlated

Bi-acylation of cellulose: determining the relative reactivities of the acetyl and fatty-acyl moieties

The global reaction between acetic anhydride and a fatty acid yields, at equilibrium, an asymmetric acetic-aliphatic anhydride in a medium containing finally: acetic-fatty anhydride, acetic anhydride, fatty acid, acetic acid and fatty anhydride. No solvent or catalyst was used to evaluate the impact of the actual reactivity of the anhydrides. The competition between the formation of acetyl and fatty acyl ester functions was evaluated by determining the ratio of acetyl/fatty acyl groups grafted on solid cellulose. The influence of temperature, reaction time, and length of fatty chain on the total degree of substitution and on the ratio of acetyl/fatty acyl ester functions was investigated. For the first time, a correlation has been established between esterification and the length of the aliphatic chain of the fatty acid. Reactivity of the medium decreased with the number of carbons in the fatty acid, raised to the power 2.37

Long chain cellulose esters with very low DS obtained with non-acidic catalysts

Long-chain cellulose esters with very low degree of substitution (DS<0.3), useful for specialty applications, were obtained by reaction with fatty acids (FAs) without solvent for cellulose. Non-acidic catalysts such as FA salts were used to limit the cellulose degradation when subjected to reaction at high temperatures. The surfactant character of this type of molecules was employed to create an emulsion with FA and water to favor the contact of hydrophobic FA and hydrophilic cellulose. Response surface methodology was used as a statistical optimization method to find the best proportions of octanoic acid, potassium laurate and water. A highly hydrophobic product with retention of fibrous structure was thus obtained. The reactions with higher saturated FAs (C10–C18) yielded lower DS values but still comparable hydrophobicity

Solvent-free fatty acylation of cellulose and lignocellulosic wastes. Part 2: reactions with fatty acids1The first paper of this series is: Thiebaud, S., Borredon, M.E., 1995. Solvent-free wood esterification with fatty acid chlorides. Bioresour. Technol., 52, 169–173.1

The mixed acylation of cellulose with fatty acids and acetic anhydride was accomplished in an excess of fatty acid, thus avoiding the addition of a toxic solvent. The experimental design enabled the parameters of a model reaction with octanoic acid to be optimized. The products contained both acetyl and octanoyl acyl groups in a 2.4/1 ratio and the maximum degree of substitution (DS) was 2.2. The use of fatty acids higher than C8 resulted in a decrease of the DS. The model reaction was applied to the esterification of four lignocellulosic wastes (LW). Their reactivity was comparable to that of cellulose when no pretreatment was used. A solvent-exchange pretreatment improved the acylation of LW by about 60%, whereas that of cellulose was increased by more than 400%. The hydrophobic character of the esterified products was confirmed

Synthesis and characterization of oleic succinic anhydrides: Structure-property relations

Alkenyl succinic anhydrides (ASA) were prepared by an‐ene reaction of n‐alkyl (C1 to C5) oleates with maleic anhydride. The purified compounds were characterized by FTIR, 1H NMR, and MS analytical methods to elucidate their structures. Their physicochemical properties were systematically studied and found to depend on the length of the alkyl radical. Structure‐property relations were established for viscosity, m.p., and density. The combination of a long hydrophobic chain and a highly polar group with density values close to that of water implied good emulsification properties for some of these molecules. Comparison of the thermal properties of alkyl oleates and their respective ASA demonstrated that the grafting of maleic anhydride allowed the synthesis of compounds with very low melting temperatures (less than −60°C) and good stability at high temperatures (greater than 350°C) under both air and helium atmospheres. All these properties suggest a strong potential for application in the biolubricant or surfactant fields. The combined influences of the succinic part and variable ester moieties imply that each ASA molecule has its own characteristics, based on which applications could be developed

Synthesis of alkenyl succinic anhydrides from methyl esters of high oleic sunflower oil

Alkenyl succinic anhydrides (ASA) have been prepared by ene‐reaction of high‐oleic sunflower oil methyl esters with maleic anhydride in a 50% xylene medium. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to investigate the influence of two factors: reaction temperature and molar ratio between maleic anhydride (MA) and methyl esters (SME). The studied parameters in 8‐h reactions were the methyl oleate conversion, the distillation yield in ASA, and responses allowing the indirect estimation of side reaction products: clarity index and dynamic viscosity. The highest yield in ASA (>70%; clarity index ≈10) was reached for a temperature of 240–250 °C with a molar ratio of 1.5–1.7. But for an industrial application requiring minimized side products (clarity index >40), the optimal synthesis conditions were: temperature between 220 and 235 °C and molar ratio of 1.2–1.35 (yield ≈55%). Such conditions did not provide a medium free of side products, even if xylene decreased their formation. Compared to solvent‐free synthesis, conversion was lower with xylene. With solvent, higher temperatures were needed to reach the same yields. Supplementary heating compensated the reagent dissolution effect that slows down the kinetics of the ene‐reaction. The influence of reaction time at 220 °C with a MA/SME ratio of 1.2 in a 50% xylene medium was studied. A reaction time of 8–10 h provided a good compromise between ASA yield and side products

Accurate determination of the degree of substitution of long chain cellulose esters

The determination of the degree of substitution (DS) of fatty acid cellulose esters with alkyl chain lengths from C8 to C18 was performed by direct transesterification with trimethylsulphonium hydroxide (TMSH) using tert-butyl methyl ether (MTBE) as a solvent. Transesterification was demonstrated to be quantitative at 75 °C in 60 min. The quantification of the formed fatty acid methyl esters was performed by gas chromatography (GC). After the optimization of the method, long chain cellulose esters (LCCE) could be analyzed in a wide range of DS. The obtained values were compared to those given by other existing protocols. LCCE with DS-values in a range of 5 × 10−5 to 3 were analyzed with high accuracy. Reproducibility is weakened for high DS values if the sample has a compact aspect limiting the accessibility of TMSH to the ester functions. This method can also be suitable for the analysis of mixed cellulose esters

Preparation of alkenyl succinic anhydrides from vegetable oil FAME

Sunflower oil and oleic motif‐enriched sunflower oil methyl esters were used to prepare alkenyl succinic anhydrides. A classic batch reactor was selected to carry out the synthesis. The range in which the temperature, reaction time, and molar ratio between the number of moles of maleic anhydride and the equivalent number of double bonds present in the unsaturated vegetable oil methyl esters (the most influential factors in the process) varied was determined in a preliminary study. A secondorder Doehlert uniform network design was used to investigate the influence of the temperature and molar ratio for all the methyl esters on the yield of alkenyl succinic anhydride from methyl oleate, the conversion of methyl oleate, the formation of side reaction products, the Gardner color of the product, and viscosity. The optimal reaction conditions for obtaining the maximal yield (around 95%) of alkenyl succinic anhydride from methyl oleate were 235°C, a molar ratio of 1.5, and a reaction lasting 8 h. However, the products synthesized under these conditions showed high viscosity (215 cP), a very dark color (18+ Gardner color), and a high content of undesirable side products (4%), which hindered their direct industrial use. The increase in the product viscosity was probably due to the formation of side reaction products. A molar ratio of less than 1.5 led to a less viscous product, although with a lower alkenyl succinic anhydride content

Consecutive reactions in an oleic acid and acetic anhydride reaction medium

When mixing acetic anhydride and oleic acid, two consecutive reactions take place. The first one yields acetic‐oleic anhydride (AOA) and acetic acid. In the second one, oleic acid reacts with AOA to form oleic anhydride at 5% in a mixture when the initial molar ratio is 1:1. Therefore, at equilibrium, the global reaction yields a mixture of AOA, acetic anhydride, oleic acid, acetic acid and oleic anhydride. Based on a new HPLC protocol, all the species of the reaction medium could be separated and quantified. This permitted for the first time to study the kinetics and thermodynamics of the reaction. In the 30–70 °C range, reactions were of order 2 with partial orders of 1 for each reactant. Equilibrium constants were determined for both reactions. Enthalpy, entropy and activation energies were calculated for the main reaction. The influence of molar ratio on the composition at equilibrium was also investigated. The synthesis of AOA could thus be understood and new data were obtained for this singular molecule scarcely cited in the CAS database