Recent advances in catalytic and non-catalytic epoxidation of terpenes: a pathway to bio-based polymers from waste biomass.

Epoxides derived from waste biomass are a promising avenue for the production of bio-based polymers, including polyamides, polyesters, polyurethanes, and polycarbonates. This review article explores recent efforts to develop both catalytic and non-catalytic processes for the epoxidation of terpene, employing a variety of oxidizing agents and techniques for process intensification. Experimental investigations into the epoxidation of limonene have shown that these methods can be extended to other terpenes.

Development of rapid and selective epoxidation of α-pinene using single-step addition of HO in an organic solvent-free process.

This study reports substantial improvement in the process for oxidising α-pinene, using environmentally friendly HO at high atom economy (∼93%) and selectivity to α-pinene oxide (100%). The epoxidation of α-pinene with HO was catalysed by tungsten-based polyoxometalates without any solvent. The variables in the screening parameters were temperatures (30-70 °C), oxidant amount (100-200 mol%), acid concentrations (0.