Hydrolysis of Epoxidized Soybean Oil in the Presence of Phosphoric Acid

Ring-opening hydrolysis of epoxidized soybean oil in the presence of phosphoric acid was studied under varying experimental conditions. The influence of type and amount of solvents, phosphoric acid content and water content on the rate of ring-opening reactions and the characteristics of the derived products were studied. The soy-polyols prepared were characterized by determination of hydroxyl content, viscosity measurements, determination of average molecular weight and polydispersity index (GPC). The structural confirmation was done by FT-IR and ¹H-NMR spectroscopy. The study shows that under the reaction conditions employed, a substantial degree of oligomerization due to oxirane-oxirane, and/or oxirane-hydroxyl reaction takes place. It is possible to synthesize soy-polyols having varying hydroxyl content and phosphate-ester functionality by controlling the type and amount of polar solvent and phosphoric acid content.