Investigation on the effect of reaction parameters to the palm oil cross-metathesis using 1-octene and ruthenium based catalyst

The use of palm oil-derived polyol for the production of polyurethane is restricted because of its low-hydroxyl value that causes imperfect polyurethanes network. The polyol with desired hydroxyl value could be produced from palm oil if it is chemically transformed using cross metathesis (CM) into olefin and ester products with terminal double bonds prior to the production of polyols. The plant oil CM process using ethylene has been hampered by its poor selectivity and low yield due to the catalyst deactivation and its catalytic intermediate (ruthenium methylidene), in addition to the undesired self-metathesis reaction. The study aimed to identify the best operating condition of the palm oil CM using 1-octene, which is believed to supress the formation of side products and unwanted catalytic intermediate, allowing the ruthenium-based Hoveyda Grubbs second generation catalyst (2nd HGC) to maintain its activity and stability. The effect of different parameters on cross-metathesis of palm oil performance was carried out using one factorial at time (OFAT) in a batch system. The changes in parameters like reaction times, temperatures, reactant molar ratios of 1-octene to palm oil (MOC/PO)/molar ratio of 1-octene to triolein (MOC/TR) and 2nd HGC catalyst loadings were correlated to the triolein conversion, 1-decene yield and selectivity of 1-decene calculated based on the amount of the reaction products. The products such as 1-decene and glyceryl tri-9-decenoate were quantified using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR) analysis was used to verify the structural changes of palm oil triglyceride to other olefins in the reaction mixture. The maximum conversion, yield and selectivity were obtained when the palm oil was cross-metathesised with MOC/TR of 8 and catalyst loading of 5 ppm occurred at 343 K for 2 h which resulted in 97.78% of triolein conversion, 293.36% of 1-decene yield. After three consecutive catalytic tests carried out at best operating condition, the insignificant decline in the reaction performance evidenced that the 2nd HGC catalyst still remained active and stable. It was also found that the power-law model well predicted the concentration profile of the cross-metathesis of palm oil using 1-octene, estimating activation energy of 22583 J/mol. This study developed a new technically feasible process for adding value to palm oil, enable the use of palm oil as a feedstock for the production of polyol with required hydroxyl value

Gas chromatography analysis for the performance evaluation of the palm oil cross-metathesis using 1-octene

alm oil is one of the important raw materials in the oleochemical industry for downstream expansion and sustainability. The built-in functionality and availability of oil worldwide make palm oil more attractive. It can be further modified using the cross-metathesis process for the production of bio-based polyol. In this study the cross metathesised palm oil was pre-treated with different types of pre-treatment methods namely transesterification, silylation, methylation and dilution to find the best pre-treatment method. Moreover, the pre-treated samples were analysed using two different Gas chromatography columns installed to the Gas chromatography flame ionisation detector (GC-FID). The best pre-treatment method was then used to prepare the samples taken from the palm oil octenolysis at different molar ratio of palm oil to 1-octene. According to the findings of this research, dilution method outperformed other pre-treatment methods

Value add palm oil through cross metathesis using 1-octene

Palm oil can be value added through cross-metathesis process with the purpose to convert it to the compounds with lower molecular weight and fatty acids having terminal double bonds which is used as a feedstock for polyol production. Metathesized triglycerides (mTAGs) are truncated versions of the natural oil feedstock with unique terminal unsaturation content

Iron-based nanoparticles oxygen scavenger for suppressing heat-stable salts formation in amine

Heat-stable salts (HSS), which trigger excessing foaming in absorber, are formed when protonated methyl diethanolamine (MDEA) reacts with the more acidic degraded products in the presence of dissolved oxygen (DO). The aim is to suppress the HSS formation in MDEA solution inaugurally employing a hybrid iron-based nanoparticles (HINP) oxygen scavenger. It was discovered that the oxygen-scavenging performance of a more cost-effective 20 %Fe/HZSM5 was one-fold higher than the 20 %Fe/MCM-41. The former was verified for its superior structural properties. The Fe2+ on its surface first reacted with DO, preventing DO from oxidizing the MDEA. Consequently, the absence of hydroxyl radicals eliminated the potential of formic acid formation, hence suppressing the MDEA-acid HSS formation

Cross metathesis of plant oil: A mini review on reaction condition and catalysis

The extensive use of the renewable plant oil-derived polyols could be hindered by its low hydroxyl value owing to the oil saturation level and structural limitations. In recent years, olefin cross-metathesis has turn out to be one of the attractive methods to overcome this constraint by redistributing alkenes fragments and regenerating carbon-carbon double bonds in the plant oil. The product distribution of the cross-metathesis of plant oil is significantly influenced by the types of catalysts and olefin as well as reaction conditions. Accordingly, dissimilar from the extensive reviews on the types of bio-based feedstocks and catalysts for cross metathesis, this article evaluates in specific the operating condition of cross-metathesising the plant oils using different olefins and catalysts, aiming to identify the future research avenues in developing a more technical feasible process to value add the plant oil. It is anticipated that the product yield resulted from the cross-metathesis of another potential feedstocks, the palm oil could be increased within a practical timeframe using 1-propene or 1-octene with a temperature not more than 60 °C and catalyst loading in ppm level