Kinetics of oxirane cleavage in epoxidized soybean oil

The kinetics of oxirane ring cleavage in epoxidized soybean oil have been studied using glacial acetic acid at 60, 70, 80 and 90°C. It was shown that the reaction can be successfully modelled as first order with respect to the epoxide concentration and second order with respect to acetic acid. The reaction velocity constant at 70°C was found to be 2 × 10⁻³ 1⁻³ hr⁻¹ mol⁻², the frequency factor, A, = 2.321 × 10⁷ hr⁻¹ and the energy of activation, E_a = 15.84 k cal mol⁻¹. The effects of the concentration of acetic acid and the temperature on the net yield of epoxides by in situ epoxidation were also studied on the basis of the predicted kinetic parameters of the reaction system.