Solvent-Free Synthesis of Glycidyl Ethers Investigating Factors Influencing the Yield of Alkyl Glycidyl Ethers

Surfactants are a widely used group of chemicals. With a range of applications from soaps to paints and from hygiene products to asphalt they are one of the most diverse product groups available. AkzoNobel in Stenungsund uses glycidyl ethers as intermediates in the productions of some of their surfactants. These glycidyl ethers are produced with some hazardous compounds, which make the handling complicated and after-treatment expensive. It would therefore be very beneficial to implement a new less hazardous reaction to replace the existing one. A new reaction presented by Lee et al. has shown promising results. No water or organic solvents are used, instead a solid base and a phase transfer catalyst are involved in the reaction of a fatty alcohol and epichlorohydrin. This reaction opens up new possibilities. For example, the separation of a solid base from the liquid product is a convenient way of purifying the glycidyl ether. In this thesis, the reaction is investigated by examining the different factors that may influence the yield of the glycidyl ether. The by-products formed in the reaction are identified, and two different alcohols were used; 1-decanol and 1-tetradecanol. Different bases, temperatures, reaction times and concentrations were tested to maximize the product yield. Two Design of Experiment studies were performed to investigate the influence of multiple factors at once. The results are promising for both of the alcohols used in the reaction, since both of them gives a yield of above 75%. The tetradecanol seems to give a higher product yield in the intervals used in this thesis, and will be interesting for future work. The reaction is clearly possible to optimize, and this was done to some extent. Further optimization should be possible, though.