An alternative process for hydrogenation of sunflower oil

Abstract

Classic methodologies for hydrogenation of vegetable oils have traditionally been carried out by nickel catalysts under high pressure of H2 and high temperature. An alternative method for hydrogenation of sunflower oil using limonene and palladium-on-carbon was investigated in this study. The use of limonene as a hydrogen donor solvent was proposed in order to avoid high temperature and high-pressure conditions. The catalytic transfer of hydrogenation was studied by using 0.5 to 2% of Pd as a catalyst, a limonene:oil ratio of 3:1, and reaction times from 0.5 to 2 hours. Under these conditions, high selectivities for oleic acid and low concentrations of stearic acid were obtained.