Technology Description
This technology is a method for making oleofurans which can be derived from biomass and used as precursors for high performance oleofuran-based surfactants. This method minimizes or eliminates the use of toxic and/or expensive reagents, such as trifluoroacetic acid, and produces a small number of bi-products. This process produces the oleofuran compounds with commercially useful overall yields at competitive costs by implementing a simple two step synthesis pathway from readily available precursors.
Features & Benefits
Oleofuran sulfonate molecules are biomass-derived detergents with high performance in hard water. However, the cost of oleofuran precursor production makes it difficult to develop a cost-competitive commercial oleofuran-based detergent. Current production methods require multiple steps for the production of the oleofuran precursor to the detergent molecule, often resulting in low overall yields. Additionally, many current methods rely on expensive and/or toxic reagents, such as trifluoroacetic acid anhydride, and/or produce a relatively large number of bi-products. This makes it difficult for oleofuran-based surfactants and/or detergents to compete with conventional petrochemical detergents.
patent pending; seeking development partners.
Two-step oleofuran production process