Azmi Intan Suhada, Jalil Mohd Jumain, Manaf Siti Nadzirah Abd, Shamjuddin Amnani, Assadi Amine Aymen, Mubarak Nabisab Mujawar, Khan Nadeem A
Chemical Engineering Studies, College of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Cawangan Johor, Kampus Pasir Gudang, Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Johor, Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
Sci Rep. 2025 Sep 1;15(1):32041. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-15010-y.
Utilizing renewable resources to produce epoxides as an alternative to petroleum-based sources is a growing trend. In this regard, several vegetable oils can serve as suitable alternatives. This study investigated the epoxidation of corn oil using sulfuric acid as a catalyst. Hydrogen peroxide and formic acid were used as the oxygen donor and carrier to form performic acid, which contains the oxirane ring functional group. Kinetic modeling was employed in this experiment to investigate the parameters that influence reaction rates, and it was used in conjunction with the genetic algorithm. The highest conversion to oxirane, at 70%, was achieved with a ratio of 1.5 mol of hydrogen peroxide, a temperature of 55 °C, and a catalyst loading of 3 g. The kinetic data indicate that the epoxide ring-opening reaction (k = 12.53 mol Lmin) occurs much more rapidly than the initial epoxidation step (k = 0.043 mol Lmin), with the model demonstrating good accuracy (R² = 0.85) and minimal error (0.14). The outcomes showed a high level of concordance between the simulation and experimental data, confirming the model's validity.
利用可再生资源生产环氧化物以替代石油基来源正成为一种日益增长的趋势。在这方面，几种植物油可作为合适的替代品。本研究考察了以硫酸为催化剂对玉米油进行环氧化反应。过氧化氢和甲酸用作氧供体和载体以形成含有环氧乙烷环官能团的过甲酸。本实验采用动力学建模来研究影响反应速率的参数，并将其与遗传算法结合使用。在过氧化氢为1.5摩尔、温度为55℃、催化剂用量为3克的条件下，环氧乙烷的最高转化率达到70%。动力学数据表明，环氧开环反应（k = 12.53 mol Lmin）比初始环氧化步骤（k = 0.043 mol Lmin）发生得快得多，该模型具有良好的准确性（R² = 0.85）和最小误差（0.14）。结果表明模拟数据与实验数据高度一致，证实了模型的有效性。
