| EPSRC Reference: |
EP/C007255/1 |
| Title: |
Linolenic acid from sunflower oil with multimetallic catalysts |
| Principal Investigator: |
Coogan, Dr M |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Chemistry |
| Organisation: |
Cardiff University |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 September 2005 |
Ends: |
31 August 2008 |
Value (£): |
185,653
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Catalysis & Applied Catalysis |
Chemical Synthetic Methodology |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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This proposal aims to convert linoleic acid from sunflower oil which is very cheap into linolenic acid which is difficult to access in bulk and uses a lot of energy to refine from the best natural source, flaxseed, as it must be kept refrigerated at all times. Linolenic acid is important to prevent many diseases and most people's diets do not contain enough. Trying to increase the amount of linolenic acid in diets by refinement from seed oils would use a lot of energy and produce a lot of agricultural waste. To convert linoleic acid to linolenic acid hydrogen has to be removed from linoleic acid, which has previously been done with iridium catalysts. To specifically make linoleic acid by removing hydrogen, however, the hydrogen has to be removed from only one specific part of the long chain of linoleic acid, so the catalysts will also contain cobalt which binds to other chemical groups in the chain. This lines up the part which needs to be near to iridium in the right position to allow only the correct hydrogen to be removed. As the reaction of linoleic acid to linolenic acid is endothermic (uses up heat) a method of removing the hydrogen and burning it to give water and heat which is used to power the reaction is also proposed.(Note to referees-as requested by EPSRC this is addressed to 'an interested 14 year old')
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.cf.ac.uk |