In Situ Epoxidation of Castor Oil Via Synergistic Sulfate-Impregnated ZSM-5 as Catalyst

In recent years, there has been a growing demand for environmentally friendly epoxides made from vegetable oils, including castor oil. This study aims to produce epoxidized castor oil derived ri acid (ECORA) with applied synergistic sulfate-impregnated ZSM-5 as catalyst. The method used for producing ECORA involved the in situ formation of peracetic acid. Based on the results obtained, the optimized process parameters for the acetic acid to ricinoleic acid molar ratio, reaction temperature and stirring speed were determined to be 1:1, 55ºC, and 200 rpm, respectively. In this study, a novel approach was introduced that involved the use of a hybrid catalyst comprising sulfuric acid and zeolite for the epoxidation process. By optimizing the process parameters, the maximum conversion to oxirane was found to be 65.56%. The Runge Kutta 4th Order method of numerical integration was used to develop a mathematical model. In this model, MATLAB software was used to determine the process model that fit with the experimental data by integrating genetic algorithm optimization. The findings demonstrated that the simulation and experimental data revealed good agreement, verifying the kinetic model.