Conversion of Free Fatty Acid in Oil to Fatty Acid Ester as Precursor of Bio-Based Epoxy Plasticizer via SnCl-Catalyzed Esterification.

The preparation and application of bio based plasticizers derived from vegetable oils has gained increasing attention in the polymer industry to date due to the emerging risk shown by the traditional petroleum-based phthalate plasticizer. Epoxy fatty acid ester is among the prospective alternative plasticizers since it is ecofriendly, non-toxic, biodegradable, low migration, and low carbon footprint. Epoxy plasticizer can be synthesized by the epoxidation reaction of fatty acid ester.