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ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Commodity Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #306244
Title: Modification of plant oils for value-added uses

Author
item Cheng, Huai
item Biswas, Atanu

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/6/2015
Publication Date: 6/18/2015
Citation: Cheng, H.N., Biswas, A. 2015. Modification of plant oils for value-added uses. In: Cheng, H. N., Gross, R.A., Smith, P.B., Co-editors. Green Polymer Chemistry: Biobased Materials and Biocatalysis. ACS Symposium Series 1192, Washington, DC: American Chemical Society. p. 235-247.

Interpretive Summary: With increased awareness of the need for sustainability and green chemistry, there has been an increasing interest in using plant oils as raw materials for the production of value-added products. In this book chapter, the authors have reviewed their work in the past few years, where they and their collaborators have made numerous derivatives of plant oils using a number of reaction pathways. Some of these products can be used for the lubricant market. Future growth of the lubricant market for plant oil-based products depends on the price and the availability of plant oils relative to petroleum crude, the cost-effectiveness of the new products, and the response from manufacturers of petroleum-based products.

Technical Abstract: Plant oils are valuable agricultural commodities and useful raw materials for the preparation of value-added products. In this article, a review is made of the various structural modifications made on plant oils in the authors’ laboratories. The reactions include Diels-Alder, ene reaction, transesterification, acid or enzymatic hydrolysis, heat-bodying reaction, hydrogenation, epoxidation, formation of acetonide, aminohydrin, and azidohydrin, click reaction, and polymerization. A wide range of products have been made from plant oils and their epoxidized derivatives. Some of these products are useful in lubricants to enhance viscosity, thermal stability, or mechanical wear.