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Continuous Hydrolysis of Cuphea Seed Oil in Subcritical Water

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society

Abstract

Cuphea seed oil (CSO) is a source of decanoic acid which is useful in the preparation of estolide lubricants among other applications. Decanoic acid and other free fatty acids (FFA) can be hydrolyzed from CSO using a catalyst like KOH, followed by neutralization with HCl and extraction with hexane. This procedure, however, uses caustic materials, hazardous solvents and generates waste salt streams. This study investigated the use of water without catalysts to hydrolyze CSO in a continuous flow tubular reactor. Parameters such as the interaction of pressure and temperature, temperature, water to cuphea oil fatty acid residue (H2O:COFAR) molar ratio, and flow rate were examined. The lowest conversions of CSO to FFA were at the lowest temperature (i.e., 300 °C) and the hydrolysis was ca. 90% at 350 °C and 13.8 MPa and ca. 80% at 365 °C and 13.8 MPa. Hydrolysis increased with pressure and leveled off at 13.8 MPa. Hydrolysis increased with temperature and leveled off at ca. 330 °C. The optimal H2O:COFAR molar ratio was found to be 6:1. Conversion rates were inversely proportional to flow rate with 95% conversion at the lowest flow rate (i.e., 0.25 mL/min) corresponding to the longest residence time (i.e., ca. 45.2 min). These results demonstrate a continuous subcritical water process for hydrolyzing CSO to FFA that is effective, requires no catalysts and does not generate a waste salt stream.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Scott Taylor and Geoffrey Girsch for their technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Functional Foods Research Unit, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, 1815 North University Street, Peoria, IL, 61604, USA

    Fred J. Eller & J. A. Teel

  2. Midwest Area Office, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, 1815 North University Street, Peoria, IL, 61604, USA

    D. E. Palmquist

Authors
  1. Fred J. Eller
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  2. J. A. Teel
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  3. D. E. Palmquist
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fred J. Eller.

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Names are necessary to report factually on available data; however, the USDA neither guarantees nor warrants the standard of the product, and the use of the name USDA implies no approval of the product to the exclusion of others that may also be suitable.

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Eller, F.J., Teel, J.A. & Palmquist, D.E. Continuous Hydrolysis of Cuphea Seed Oil in Subcritical Water. J Am Oil Chem Soc 88, 1455–1461 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-011-1798-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-011-1798-8

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