Preparation and characterization of Zinc metal soap from shea butter (Vitellaria paradoxa)

Zinc metal soaps are of great importance in the manufacture of personal care products and other industrial applications. Variations in the soaps and their properties are usually due to the type of oil used in the synthesis. Shea butter (Vitellaria paradoxa), being a valuable industrial raw material, was investigated for the synthesis of zinc metal soap. Locally obtained shea butter was characterized, refined and used to synthesize metal soap of zinc which was characterized. The zinc soap produced exhibited an off-white appearance, pH of 7.8, non-foaming, and no free alkalinity present. The functional groups in the soap were confirmed by FTIR.

Comparison of Liquid Product Characteristics of PFAD Metal Soap Decarboxylation by Batch and Continuous Process

Well-run continuous processes will benefit the industrial world in the future. This paper investigated the effect of batch and continuous processes on metal basic soap decarboxylation in terms of the liquid product characteristics. The metal soap used in the process was made from palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) reacted with mixed metal oxides of Zn, Mg, and Ca. While the batch decarboxylation was carried out in a batch reactor at 400 °C for 5 hours, the continuous decarboxylation was conducted at 400 °C with a feed flow rate of 3.75 gr/minutes. Theoretically, the yield of batch decarboxylation is 76.6 wt% while the yield of continuous decarboxylation is 73.37 wt%. The liquid product was fractionated to separate short-chain hydrocarbon of C7-C10 (gasoline fractions) from medium- to long-chain hydrocarbons, or greater than C11 (green diesel fraction). The result showed that the alkane content from the batch process was higher than from the continuous process, whereas the continuous process produced more ketone products compared to the batch process. Furthermore, the GC-FID analysis showed a similar amount of total hydrocarbon (alkane, iso-alkane, and alkene) in both the batch and the continuous process.

Formation of Metal Soaps In Oil Paintings Under Variable Environmental Conditions

Formation of metal soaps in model paintings under cyclic temperature and relative humidity conditions has been studied by ATR-FTIR and compared with the standard controlled conditions generally maintained in many museums and storerooms. Three different white pigments (lead, zinc and titanium white) and two types of linseed oils (cold-pressed and alkali-refined) have been tested. The behaviour in short times (up to 6 weeks) depends on the pigment and environmental conditions. The relative humidity conditions have been shown to influence the metal soap formation in more degree than the temperature. Ageing under low cyclic relative humidity (30-50%) promotes metal soap formation in both lead and zinc white pigments, compared to high relative humidity (50-90%) conditions. Besides, the formation of zinc soaps continues for 6 weeks when low cyclic relative humidity is used, but it stops after 3 weeks under the other ageing conditions studied.

Dinamika dan Karakter Produk Hasil Dekarboksilasi Sabun Hidroksi Pelargonat

Pengembangan bahan bakar nabati akan memberi berbagai manfaat bagi pembangunan nasional, antara lain pengurangan impor bahan bakar minyak dan peningkatan ketahanan energi nasional. Oleh karena itu, teknologi untuk pembuatan bahan bakar nabati pensubstitusi bahan bakar minyak, terutama bensin, merupakan kebutuhan yang mendesak. Salah satu teknologi untuk menghasilkan bahan bakar nabati pensubstitusi bensin adalah dekarboksilasi sabun hidroksi pelargonat. Magnesium hidroksi pelargonat [Mg(OH)(OOCC8H17)] dapat didekarboksilasi menghasilkan n-oktana [C8H18] dan magnesium karbonat [MgCO3] yang pada temperatur mendekati 500oC akan terurai menjadi MgO dan CO2. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendapatkan pemahaman tentang dinamika dan karakter produk cair hasil reaksi dekarboksilasi sabun hidroksi pelargonat [Mg(OH)OOCC8H17] pada rentang suhu 250-350oC.The development of biofuel have a lot of advantages for national growth, such as, imports reduction of fuel and increasing national energy security and sustainability. Therefore, biofuel production technology for substitution of fuel oil especially gasoline, is very important. One of technology method to produce biogasoline is decarboxylation of pelargonic hydroxy metal soap. Magnesium hydroxy pelargonate [Mg(OH)(OOCC8H17)] can be decarboxylated to produce n-octane [C8H18] and magnesium carbonate [MgCO3] which at temperatures close to 500oC decompose into MgO and CO2. The objectives of this research is to investigate comprehensively the dynamics and character liquid products from decarboxylation of pelargonic hydroxy soap [Mg(OH)OOCC8H17] reaction at temperature range of 250-350oC.

Drying Oil and Natural Varnishes in Paintings: A Competition in the Metal Soap Formation

Metal soaps formation is a well-known issue in oil paintings. Along the lifetime of the painting, carboxylic acids coming from drying oil (free fatty acids, acids from hydrolysis of triglycerides and from oxidation processes) can react with cations of some pigments (in particular, smalt, lead white and zinc white) forming the related carboxylic salts. As observed by many authors, the formation of these carboxylates, with the tendency to migrate and to aggregate, not only modifies the behavior and the aspect of the paint film but also complicates the cleaning approach. In previous works we have demonstrated that a similar pigment reactivity is possible even in presence of natural resins (such as colophony, dammar, mastic, etc) historically used as final varnishes on paintings. In this case, in the reactions the terpenic acids, among the main components of the resins, are involved. In this work, the carboxylates formation kinetics has been studied starting from two representative acids (palmitic and abietic) of painting oils and natural varnishes. Successively, the reactivity of the palmitic acid with the potassium abietate and of the abietic acid with the potassium palmitate has been verified. This investigation aims at clarifying in which way terpenic acids can be involved in the metal soaps reactivity confirming that also surface varnishes may play a significant role in the carboxylates formation and reactivity. It is important to keep in mind that a finishing varnish can be removed and reapplied many times during the lifetime of a painting, thus renewing the provision of reactive terpenic acids at the interface of the painted layers.

The kinetics of metal soap crystallization in oil polymers

The kinetics of metal soap crystallization and the structures that form are highly dependent on polymer matrix properties.

Nano- to microscale three-dimensional morphology relevant to transport properties in reactive porous composite paint films

The quantitative evaluation of the three-dimensional (3D) morphology of porous composite materials is important for understanding mass transport phenomena, which further impact their functionalities and durability. Reactive porous paint materials are composites in nature and widely used in arts and technological applications. In artistic oil paintings, ambient moisture and water and organic solvents used in conservation treatments are known to trigger multiple physical and chemical degradation processes; however, there is no complete physical model that can quantitatively describe their transport in the paint films. In the present study, model oil paints with lead white (2PbCO3·Pb(OH)2) and zinc white (ZnO) pigments, which are frequently found in artistic oil paintings and are associated with the widespread heavy metal soap deterioration, were studied using synchrotron X-ray nano-tomography and unilateral nuclear magnetic resonance. This study aims to establish a relationship among the paints’ compositions, the 3D morphological properties and degradation. This connection is crucial for establishing reliable models that can predict transport properties of solvents used in conservation treatments and of species involved in deterioration reactions, such as soap formation.