(1) Lion Corp., Process Engineering Center, Hirai 7-13-12, Edogawa-ku, 132 Tokyo, Japan
Abstract:
Ehthylene oxide (EO) cannot react directly with fatty methyl esters that have no active hydrogen. We developed a new synthetic method, which directly inserts EO into fatty methyl esters (RCOOCH3) to give [RCO(OCH2CH2)nOCH3]. This was achieved by the use of a novel solid catalyst modified by metal cations. Ethoxylates of fatty methyl esters obtained by this method were homogeneous monoesters and had good properties as nonionic surfactants. Presented at the AOCS Annual Meeting & Expo in Anaheim, California, April 1993.