Preliminary Study of Epoxidation of Soybean Oil in Stirred Tank Reactor: the Effect of the Mixing Program

Epoxidated vegetable oils are largely employed as plasticizer instead of harmful phthalates and they represent a sustainable choice to produce lubricants and intermediates. In this work, the epoxidation of soybean oil is carried using hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) 32wt.% and acetic acid instead of the commonly used H2O2 at 60wt.% and formic acid to reduce the risk of detonation and corrosion. The efficacy of an acid catalyst (sulfuric acid) is tested. Particular attention is focussed on a proper mixing program.