Preparation of 1-monoacylglycerols from glycidol and fatty acids catalyzed by the chromium(III)-fatty acid system

Abstract

A description is given for preparing l-monoacylglycerols by the reaction of fatty acids with glycidol catalyzed by Cr(lll)-fatty acid complexes. These complexes were found to possess catalytic efficiency substantially greater than catalysts employed earlier. Effects of catalyst type, its content in the mixture, molar ratio of reactants, and reaction temperature during the course of acid conversion were studied. With a catalyst content of 0.5% by mass of charged reactants and at 90 degrees C a 90-95% conversion of the acid can be achieved within 60 min. In addition to the corresponding I-monoacylglycerol, only unreacted starting substances and the catalyst were detected in resulting reaction mixtures.