Preparation of Epoxidized Palm Oil by using Performic Acid

The epoxidation process of palm oil was carried out using in situ-generated performic acid.Formic acid actsasanoxygen carrier and hydrogen peroxide actsas an oxygen donor in the reaction system. The epoxidation process was performed usinga molecular ratio of 5.91 molesof formic acid to3.60 molesof hydrogen peroxide, reaction temperature of 40ºC and reaction time of 2.55 hours. The validation of the epoxidized palm oil (EPO) molecular structure was confirmedby Fourier Transformation Infra-Red (FTIR)andproton and carbon Nuclear Magnetic Resonance(1H-NMR and 13C-NMR) spectroscopy. Highconversion (99.43%) of oxirane ringwas obtainedwith 86% (w/w) yield of EPO.The existence of epoxy groupwas evidenced by FTIR at 843cm-1, 1H-NMR chemical shift at 2.89 ppm and 13C-NMR at 54.19-57.22 ppm. The physicochemical properties results showthat EPO has higher oxidative stability (190ºC), flash point (255ºC) and viscosity index (133),which make EPO plausible to be used as an industrial fluid..