Mole Ratio of Eco–Friendly Epoxidation of Citrullus Lanatus (Watermelon) Seeds Oil

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Chemistry, University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore, Pakistan

Abstract

The mole ratio of epoxidation of Watermelon seed oil (citrulus lanatus) was studied in situ formed by the reaction of hydrogen
peroxide and glacial acetic acid, acting as precursor of peroxy-acetic acid (behave as active oxygen carrier), in the presence of
catalyst in inert solvent (maintain the stability of epoxidised product). Choice of catalyst (Amberlite IR-120) got priority as ecofriendly and more effective n terms of oxirane conversion instead of mineral acids i.e. H
2SO4 and HNO3. The epoxidation of
Watermelon seed (WMSO) oil was proceeded in two main reaction phases via Homogenous & Heterogeneous phase. In
heterogeneous phase, reaction starts with the formation of initiator like peroxy-carboxylic acid by excitingly combination of
hydrogen peroxide with carboxylic acids (liquid phase) using a catalyst (solid phase). This leads to next step, i.e. combination of
peroxy-carboxylic acid (liquid phase) with unsaturated fatty acid (liquid phase) giving homogenous phase reaction. The relative
epoxy yield was achieved at 333K (60
) after 6 hrs when Amberlite IR-120 was taken as 3% of total weight of acetic acid and 30%
aqueous H
2O2 per mole of double bond in oil.

Keywords