Mrg. Klaas et S. Warwel, CHEMOENZYMATIC EPOXIDATION OF UNSATURATED FATTY-ACID ESTERS AND PLANTOILS, Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society, 73(11), 1996, pp. 1453-1457
In the presence of an immobilized lipase from Candida antacrtica (Novo
zym 435(R)) fatty acids are converted to peroxy acids by the reaction
with hydrogen peroxide. In a similar reaction, fatty acid esters are p
erhydrolyzed to peroxy acids. Unsaturated fatty acid esters subsequent
ly epoxidize themselves, and in this way epixodized plant oils can be
prepared with good yields (rapeseed oil 91%, sunflower oil 88%, linsee
d oil 80%). The hydrolysis of the plant oil to mono- and diglycerides
can be suppressed by the addition of a small amount of free fatty acid
s. Rapeseed oil methyl ester can also be epoxidized; the conversion of
C=C-bonds is 95%, and the composition of the epoxy fatty acid methyl
esters corresponds to the composition of the unsaturated methyl esters
in the substrate.