Preparation of cottonseed-based epoxy fatty acid methyl esters by an integrated approach

An integrated approach was developed for preparing epoxy fatty acid methyl esters (EFAMEs) from cottonseed using a two-phase solvent extraction (TPSE) process followed by sequential base-catalyzed transesterification and epoxidation reactions. The TPSE process was performed to achieve simultaneous production of high-quality crude cottonseed oil and nontoxic cottonseed meal. The base-catalyzed transesterification of the cottonseed oil proceeded smoothly at 30 °C over 2 h to provide a high yield of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs). Subsequent epoxidation of the unsaturated FAMEs using petroleum ether as a non-polar solvent, H 3 PO 4 as a catalyst, 0.3 g/g H 2 O 2 as an oxygen donor, and HCOOH as an oxygen carrier gave the corresponding EFAMEs with a conversion to oxirane of 0.85 g/g. The order of effectiveness of catalysts was found to be H 3 PO 4 > TiO 2 > H 2 SO 4 > strong-acid cation exchange resin. The bio-based integrated process and new methods for the preparation of modified EFAMEs show great promise for comprehensive development and commercial applications of cottonseed with fewer steps and lower cost.