Mass transfer and reaction rate parameters for the in-situ epoxidation of tamanu oil

The stages of the double bond epoxidation process of tamanu oil include (1) the process of making peroxyacetic acid (PAA), (2) the mass transfer of several components, and (3) the epoxidation reaction, followed by further reactions within the organic phase. This study was dedicated to the determination and estimation of reaction and mass transfer parameters in the in-situ epoxidation of tamanu oil with PAA. The reaction constant values were observed to be directly proportional to the reaction temperature, except in the case of the reaction rate constant of the epoxy protonation (k₃). There is a slight deviation in k₃, where it decreases from 14.6178 ± 0.0507 g.mol⁻¹.min⁻¹ at 40 °C to 13.6561 ± 0.0081 g.mol⁻¹.min⁻¹ at 50 °C. The overall mass transfer coefficient (k_ca) values increase with increasing temperature, where the k_ca for PAA, H₂O, acetic acid (AA), and H⁺ were 12.6654 ± 0.0657 to 23.0777 ± 0.1384, 12.3793 ± 0.0549 to 23.0790 ± 0.1476, 12.4912 ± 0.0394 to 23.0789 ± 0.0978, 12.4296 ± 0.0821 to 23.0790 ± 0.1296, respectively. Conversely, the Henry constant (H) values for each component vary. This constant is associated with the solubility of each component.