Chemistry

The Innoleic^TM products are obtained from the chemical modification of vegetable oils, mainly soybean oil. The reactions include transesterification, epoxidation, and acylation. These reactions allow us to adjust the molecular size and compatibility of our products as plasticizers for PVC, to better fit the industry's needs.

Transesterification Transesterification is the reaction of triglycerides (such as soybean oil) with alcohols, that can range from 1 carbon (methanol) to 9 carbon (isononanol). The reaction is described by the equation below: The key quality considerations for this reaction is the desired conversion, removal of excess alcohol, and removal of glycerol. The conversion can be evaluated with liquid chromatography and correlated to other properties, such as density and refractive index. The removal of excess alcohol can be measured by gravimetry, as the alcohols are considerably more volatile than the final product. And, finally, the glycerol removal can be measured by gas chromatography.

Epoxidation Epoxidation is the substitution of double bonds with an oxirane ring. The reaction can be described by the equation below: Soybean oil, as many vegetable oils, has a significant presence of double bonds in their molecules. This presence is measured by the Iodine NuGPser. One measure of the quality of the epoxidation is the low Iodine NuGPser, indicating high conversion. The other measure is the Oxirane Index, that measures the total oxygen of the oxirane rings in the molecule, in a weight basis. The higher the oxirane index, the higher the conversion. But it is dependent on the original nuGPser of double bonds of the soybean oil. It is important to notice that soybean varieties have slightly different double bonds contents. Innoleics specifies minimum values for the oils we acquire, to ensure compliance with our Oxirane Index specifications.

Acylation Acylation is the reaction where a hydroxyl group is substituted by an acetic ester group, as described by the equation below: This reaction is important for the third generation plasticizers, such as the Innoleic TM GPs line. The acylation ensures improved compatibility of the plasticizers with PVC and a lower volatility, making these materials suitable for high permanence applications. The quality parameter for this reaction is a low Hydroxyl Number, indicating high conversion.