Optimizing Process Parameters of Epoxidized Sucrose Soyate Synthesis for Industrial Scale Production

There is a growing need to produce epoxidized sucrose soyate (ESS) at an industrial scale for large-scale applications in coatings and material science. Industrial scale production of ESS requires optimization of the process conditions to minimize cost without compromising resin quality. Therefore, a robust model was developed that predicts the conversion of double bonds to oxirane under different process scenarios. Data for the model were obtained by epoxidizing 30 g batches of sucrose soyate at three reactor temperatures (55, 60, and 65 °C), three molar ratios of acetic acid to oil unsaturation (0.25:1, 0.375:1, and 0.5:1), three molar ratios of H2O2 to oil unsaturation (1:1, 1.5:1, and 2:1), three catalyst amounts (1.5, 3.75, and 6 g), and three reaction times (3.5, 4.5, and 5.5 h). The model was highly significant with an adjusted R 2 of 97.6% and predicted R 2 of 96.8%. The root-mean-square errors (RMSE) of 0.54 showed that the model was a good fit in predicting optimal epoxidation conditions at different process levels. ESS samples epoxidized at 60–65 °C for 4.5–5 h had conversion greater than 98% even when reagent amounts were reduced by 18–20%. A similar resin quality was also attained when one of the optimal conditions was scaled-up 100 fold to a 3 kg batch. Therefore, this model can be used to determine appropriate processing conditions for epoxidizing vegetable oil-based compounds at any scale with sufficient mixing and temperature control.