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Sustainable Process for Production of Azelaic Acid Through Oxidative Cleavage of Oleic Acid

Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society volume 92, pages 1701–1707 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

This work describes two sustainable methods for production and purification of azelaic acid (AA) to replace the current process of ozonolysis of oleic acid (OA). The first proceeds in two steps, coupling smooth oxidation of OA to 9,10-dihydroxystearic acid (DSA) with subsequent oxidative cleavage by sodium hypochlorite. An alternative methodology is also proposed, using a chemocatalytic system consisting of H2O2/H2WO4 for direct oxidative cleavage of the double bond of OA at 373 K. A convenient technique for separation and purification of azelaic acid is also proposed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors warmly thank Prof. Thierry Ollevier (Université Laval, Canada) for helpful discussions. The authors thank MIUR (Progetto Rebiochem—Cluster 2012) for financial support. The authors also thank Solvay (Rosignano, Italy) for a generous loan of hydrogen peroxide (60 % v/v).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università di Napoli “Federico II”, Complesso Universitario di Monte S.Angelo, via Cintia, 80126, Naples, Italy

    Vincenzo Benessere, Maria E. Cucciolito, Augusta De Santis, Martino Di Serio, Roberto Esposito, Francesco Ruffo & Rosa Turco

  2. Consorzio Interuniversitario di Reattività Chimica e Catalisi (CIRCC), Bari, Italy

    Vincenzo Benessere, Maria E. Cucciolito, Martino Di Serio, Roberto Esposito, Francesco Ruffo & Rosa Turco

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  1. Vincenzo Benessere
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  2. Maria E. Cucciolito
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  3. Augusta De Santis
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  4. Martino Di Serio
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  5. Roberto Esposito
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  6. Francesco Ruffo
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  7. Rosa Turco
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Correspondence to Francesco Ruffo.

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Benessere, V., Cucciolito, M.E., De Santis, A. et al. Sustainable Process for Production of Azelaic Acid Through Oxidative Cleavage of Oleic Acid. J Am Oil Chem Soc 92, 1701–1707 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-015-2727-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-015-2727-z

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