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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Bio-oils Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #255562
Title: Synthesis and characterization of corn oil polyhydroxy fatty acids designed as additive agent for many applications

Author
item Harry O Kuru, Rogers
item Mohamed, Abdellatif
item Xu, Jingyuan - James
item SHARMA, BRAJENDRA - University Of Illinois

Submitted to: Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/17/2011
Publication Date: 5/30/2011
Citation: Harry O Kuru, R.E., Mohamed, A., Xu, J., Sharma, B.K. 2011. Synthesis and characterization of corn oil polyhydroxy fatty acids designed as additive agent for many applications. Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society. 88(8)1211-1221.

Interpretive Summary: From pre-historic times, corn has served mankind as a food as well as a condiment source in various ways. The corn kernel, like other vegetable seeds, contains edible oil which use has primarily been as a condiment for cooking. Because vegetable oils are renewable and are friendly to the environment when spent, much work is being done to expand their range of use into areas that were previously the preserve of the petrochemicals which have caused so much pollution to the environment. In this work, we have modified corn oil into a more stable product that retains its inherent biodegradability, yet has novel properties not present in the parent oil as attested to by the data obtained using infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, rheology, and thermogravimetry. The characteristics of this product make it amenable as an excellent candidate for use in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and food, as well as a lubricity-enhancing additive to ultralow sulphur fuels.

Technical Abstract: Before the advent of the modern food industry, vegetable oils (triglycerides) from many sources had a long history of use as condiments in cooking, personal care and other therapeutic applications. Industrial applications of vegetable oils, on the other hand, have been limited on account of the shorter shelf-life durability of these oils resulting from the natural unsaturation (carbon-carbon double bonds) in the structure of most triglycerides. In seeking to explore the expanded utilization of this renewable resource, we have chemically modified the above weakness in the material in an attempt to stabilize the oil. We have used FT-IR and NMR spectroscopy to characterize the derivative, whereas investigation of the physical and chemical properties of the product, in terms of stability and flow characteristics, have been studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), pressure differential scanning calorimetry (PDSC), rheometry, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The obtained data indicate that the polyhydroxylated acids are more stable than the native corn oil. Additionally, the obtained properties are unique and such that this product will be amenable in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and other industrial uses, especially as a lubricity-enhancing additive in fuel applications.