Sonochemically induced reactions of oils

Abstract

This work will describe the use of the ultrasonic power for the modification of a wide range of oils from vegetable, through to mineral and synthetic oils. It will be shown that ultrasound is effective in cleaving the chains of carbon-based oils with the generation of products with a lower viscosity. The proposed mechanism through which these less viscous products are generated involves the formation of radical species which can be either oxygen or non-oxygen related. The process can be improved by the addition of nucleating agents, with the achieved lower viscosity being stabilised by the addition of radical scavengers. It will be also shown that ultrasound is effective as a power source to drive organic chemistry reactions such as the alkaline hydrolysis of triglycerides (saponification reaction). Benefits of this work will be related to the possible production of more easily degradable oils and to the possibility of using such oils as alternative energy sources, with a particular interest in investigating the environmental and energetic benefits of this approach.