RAPID

Renewable feedstocks, including triglycerides and lignocellulose-derived sugars, can be converted to a new class of ionic surfactants, called “oleo-furan sulfonates” (OFS) by multi-step solid acid catalysis. The renewable OFS surfactant exhibits superior properties relative to conventional fossil-derived materials with higher micelle-forming efficiency, stability in cold water, and resistance to hard water. The sequential synthesis process includes catalytic hydrolysis of triglycerides, fatty acid dehydration to anhydrides, and furan acylation with anhydrides to form alkylfuran ketones, the key precursor to OFS surfactants. This technology has been demonstrated as a three-step process with independent reactors. This project aims to more efficiently prepare oleo-furan sulfonate (OFS) surfactants by combining all three chemistries (hydrolysis, dehydration, and furan acylation) into a single reactor-separator that permits integrated separation of byproduct water. All three reactions will be conducted in a vertical column containing packed trays to promote selective vaporization of light components (i.e., water). Spatially distributed throughout the column will be three catalytic zones containing hierarchical solid acid zeolite catalysts, each of which promote the chemistry specific to the composition of that zone. Water liberated from the acylation and dehydration steps at the bottom of the reactor flow upward to promote triglyceride hydrolysis, while fatty acids and anhydrides flow down to promote furan acylation. At the conclusion of this project, a detailed design of a reactive distillation system will be developed permitting tunable extents of each of the three chemistries, such that various grades of OFS surfactants can be manufactured. The project is also looking into advancing the lab-scale demonstration to the pilot-scale production.