Kinetic Study on Oxirane Cleavage of Epoxidized Palm Oil

A ring-opened product (EPO-HOAc) was prepared using epoxidized palm oil (EPO) and acetic acid (HOAc). The kinetics of the oxirane cleavage of EPO were investigated at 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90 °C, respectively, in the presence of HOAc. The rate equation of oxirane cleavage was as follows: r = kEp]CH₃COOH]^1.6 (Ep] is the molar concentration of oxiranes, CH₃COOH] is the molar concentration of HOAc), and the activation energy of oxirane cleavage was 40.28 kJ mol⁻¹. The structure of EPO-HOAc was confirmed by FT-IR and ¹H NMR. The oxidative stability of EPO-HOAc was better than that of palm oil (PO), and the pour point of EPO-HOAc was lower than that of PO and EPO, which made EPO-HOAc more suitable for biodegradable lubricant materials than PO and EPO.