| Summary: | The utilization of unsaturated fatty acids as a renewable source for the production of epoxides makes it an appealing alternative. However, there has been limited research on optimizing the process parameters for epoxidized sunflower oil, resulting in its underutilization. Therefore, this study aimed to optimize the catalytic epoxidation of sunflower oil concerning the oxirane content. The epoxidation of sunflower oil was conducted using an in situ peracetic acid method, where hydrogen peroxide served as the oxygen donor and carboxylic acid acted as the oxygen carrier. The findings revealed that the optimal reaction conditions for producing epoxidized sunflower oil-derivative linoleic acid with the highest oxirane content were a catalyst loading of 0.2% zeolite, a molar ratio of hydrogen peroxide to linoleic acid of 1:1, string speed of 300 rpm, and formic acid as oxygen carrier. By employing these optimal conditions, the maximum relative conversion of sunflower oil derived linoleic acid to oxirane was achieved at 63.9%. Lastly, employing genetic algorithm, the results exhibit excellent agreement with the experimental data, thereby confirming the accuracy and validity of the kinetic model. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2024.
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