Abstract:
The synthesis of bio based polyols from epoxied vegetable oil has gained significant interest of
as a sustainable alternative to petroleum-derived feed stocks. However, the hydroxylation
process of producing soy-based polyether polyol from Epoxide waste cooking soybean oil
(EWCSBO) is an exothermic process, conventional reactors often suffers from heat and mass
transfer limitation, leading to lower hydroxyl (OH) number. To address these limitations, this
study aimed to intensify the hydroxylation of EWCSBO using a micro channel reactor integrated
with a micro channel heat sink designed from hydrodynamic, mass and heat transfer literature
models of 15cm width, 30cm length and 4mm diameter was fabricated. The intensified
hydroxylation of EWCSBO was carried out 75 OC-90 OC utilizing ethylene glycol (C2H6O2)
following initial synthesis and refining of EWCSBO at 65 OC. System performance was
evaluated by dimensionless number governing transport phenomena and hydrodynamics while
response surface methodology was employed to optimize process parameter. The dimensionless
numbers has directly illustrated the performance of the micro channel reactor and micro channel
heat sink has performed in similar standard range way with other micro channel reactions. The
statistical analysis demonstrated high reaction efficiency, yielding high OH number ranging from
390.12 mgKOH/g-441.14 mgKOH/g. Structural and thermal resistance of raw waste cooking
soybean oil (WCSBO), intermediate epoxied waste cooking soybean oil (EWCSBO), and final
product soy-based polyether polyol were characterized using Fourier transform infrared
spectroscopy (FTIR), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR), and Thermo gravimetric
analysis (TGA). This research demonstrates a viable green chemistry approach for up cycling
waste cooking oil in to bio-polyol suitable for polyurethane production in industrial several
applications. It is highly essential for like textile, automotive, medical, and pharmaceutical
industries. This research also gives a valuable insight for process intensification of polymer
synthesis.
