Polyglycerol esters: Optimization and techno‐economic evaluation

Abstract

Optimization of the two‐step reaction for preparation of polygly‐cerol esters of fatty acids from the industrial point of view has been studied. Parameters such as nature of the alkaline catalyst, tempera‐ture and time of the reaction have been examined. It was found that the polymerization process needs 260–280 C in the presence of inert gas and 2.5 mol % of NaOH as catalyst. The esterification can be accomplished in the absence of additional catalyst and temperatures as low as 230 C. A simulation model of a chemical plant has been used for evaluation of cost of the production of such emulsifiers.

Oligomerization of glycerol – a critical review

“…Care must be taken during the reaction to exclude air from the system. Traces of oxygen form acrolein and other condensation products which darken the final product [33].…”

A Simple and Efficient Process for Large Scale Glycerol Oligomerization by Microwave Irradiation

“…In contrast, basic homogeneous catalysts appear safer and less expensive, and thus several alkaline species have been studied [19,[22][23][24][25]. Among them, potassium carbonate (K 2 CO 3 ) has not attracted much focus so far, despite being a very active catalyst [22,23]. Indeed, a preliminary qualitative screening of several alkaline bases showed a quicker conversion of glycerol with K 2 CO 3 compared to other homogeneous bases such as NaOH, KOH, and so on.…”

“…The oligomerization of glycerol was attempted using K 2 CO 3 as a catalyst, which has been reported in the literature to be an active basic catalyst for glycerol oligomerization [22]. The reaction temperature was set to 237 • C, close to the upper tolerance limit of the microwave system.…”

“…Homogeneous acid catalysts on the other hand can lead to dehydration reactions with toxic products such as acrolein [20,21]. In contrast, basic homogeneous catalysts appear safer and less expensive, and thus several alkaline species have been studied [19,[22][23][24][25]. Among them, potassium carbonate (K2CO3) has not attracted much focus so far, despite being a very active catalyst [22,23].…”

Synthèse de polyglycérols linéaires et cycliques. Tensioactifs polyglycérylés : synthèse et caractérisations

“…On the other hand, the use of orthogonal protective groups and of selective reactions yielded a large range of amphiphilic molecules bearing different kind of fatty chain (length, unsaturations, position on the polar head, ester or ether bond). Jusqu'à présent, la multiplicité des structures produites ainsi que l'absence d'étalon de référence a véritablement freiné les méthodes d'analyses chromatographiques [4][5][6][7]. Les études des propriétés physicochimiques ont également été uniquement réalisées sur ces mélanges de dérivés d'oligoglycérols [8,9].…”