Highly Selective Process for Epoxidation of Fatty Acid Methyl Esters with Peroxyacetic Acid

Abstract

Specific features of the double-stage process in which unsaturated compounds and, in particular, fatty acid methyl esters of vegetable oils are epoxidated with peroxyacetic acid obtained ex situ in aqueous solutions of acetic acid and hydrogen peroxide under catalysis with Amberlyst 15 Dry ion-exchange resin were examined. It was shown that the independently occurring processes in which the peroxy acid is heterogeneously catalytically formed and epoxy compounds are synthesized can substantially raise the formation selectivity of epoxides with respect to double bonds in fatty acid methyl esters and simplify the simulation of these processes and their technological implementation.