Mechanochemistry and oleochemistry: a green combination for the production of high-value small chemicals

Christophe Len; Vaishaly Duhan; Weiyi Ouyang; Remi Nguyen; Bimlesh Lochab

doi:10.3389/fchem.2023.1306182

Mechanochemistry and oleochemistry: a green combination for the production of high-value small chemicals

Front Chem. 2023 Nov 27:11:1306182. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2023.1306182. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Christophe Len^{1

2}, Vaishaly Duhan³, Weiyi Ouyang¹, Remi Nguyen², Bimlesh Lochab³

Affiliations

¹ School of Chemistry, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
² Institute of Chemistry for Life and Health Sciences, Chimie ParisTech, PSL Research University, Paris, France.
³ Materials Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Greater Noida, India.

Abstract

Mechanochemistry and oleochemistry and their combination have been known for centuries. Nevertheless, bioeconomy and circular economy concepts is much more recent and has motivated a regain of interest of dedicated research to improve alternative technologies for the valorization of biomass feedstocks. Accordingly, this review paper aims essentially at outlining recent breakthroughs obtained in the field of mechanochemistry and oleochemicals such as triglycerides, fatty acids, and glycerol derivatives. The review discusses advances obtained in the production of small chemicals derived from oils with a brief overview of vegetable oils, mechanochemistry and the use of mechanochemistry for the synthesis of biodiesel, lipidyl-cyclodextrine, dimeric and labelled fatty acids, calcium diglyceroxide, acylglycerols, benzoxazine and solketal. The paper also briefly overviews advances and limits for an industrial application.

Keywords: batch reactor; continuous flow reactor; glycerol; mechanochemistry; vegetable oil.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. VD and BL would like to acknowledge the financial support from the Shiv Nadar Foundation and the SERB-Power Research Grant (Grant No. SPG/2021/002537).