Engineering and Applied Science Research (Jul 2023)
Synthesis of epoxy oil from Waste Cooking Oil (WCO) using acetic acid and amberlite resin IR-120 as catalyst
Abstract
Several reports showed that the high unsaturated fatty acids present in waste cooking oil (WCO) held significant potential as a valuable raw material for the production of epoxy oil. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a method for effectively utilizing WCO in the synthesis of epoxy oil with acetic acid and amberlite resin IR-20 as catalyst. The synthesis process involved the use of a reflux method at 60oC with various epoxidation times (4, 6, and 8 hours) on a batch scale. The materials used included hydrogen peroxide, glacial acetic acid (homogeneous catalyst), and amberlite resin IR-120 (heterogeneous catalyst) with different mass ratio of WCO to amberlite resin IR-120 (100:0; 100:1.58; 100:3.15; and 100:6.3). The functional group analysis results using the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometer showed the presence of stretching vibrations of the epoxy group (C-O-C) at 850-830 cm-1 and 1240 cm-1. Increasing the ratio of WCO to amberlite resin IR-120 from 100:0 to 100:3.15 led to a decrease in iodine number and an increase in oxirane number. A further increase in the ratio to 100:6.3 provided an increase in the iodine number and a decrease in the oxirane number. Furthermore, the highest oxirane number was achieved with a 100:3.15 ratio of WCO to amberlite resin IR-120. Based on the results, an increment in the epoxidation time from 4 hours to 8 hours led to a decrease in the iodine number and an increase in the oxirane number. The highest oxirane number of 2.4159% was achieved with a 100:3.15 ratio of WCO to amberlite resin IR-120 for 8 hours.
