Catalytic epoxidation of waste cooking oil with applied homogeneous catalyst

Abstract The increasing demand for sustainable and biodegradable materials has driven research into green catalytic epoxidation of waste cooking oil (WCO) as a renewable alternative to petroleum‐based epoxides. Current catalytic epoxidation of waste cooking oil, especially using homogeneous catalysts, is limited by oxirane instability and ring‐opening side reactions. This study investigates the use of a hybrid catalyst system comprising nitric acid and sulfuric acid, with formic acid and acetic acid as oxygen carriers, in an in situ epoxidation process. Hydrogen peroxide was used as the oxidizing agent, and kinetic modeling was employed to analyze the reaction mechanisms. The experimental results demonstrated that a 1.5 g hybrid catalyst with formic acid as the oxygen carrier achieved the highest relative conversion of 50% within 40 min. Kinetic modeling using numerical simulations indicated that the epoxidation reaction is governed by the rapid epoxidation step ( k ₁₂) and hydrogen peroxide decomposition ( k ₂), with minimal side reactions. The optimized model provided a strong correlation between simulated and experimental oxirane oxygen content, supporting its predictive capability. These findings contribute to the advancement of sustainable WCO valorization, offering a greener alternative for polymer and lubricant applications. In this study, the green aspect primarily refers to the utilization of waste cooking oil (WCO) as a renewable and low‐value feedstock, contributing to waste valorization and reduced reliance on virgin vegetable oils. Compared to conventional sources, WCO offers advantages in terms of resource efficiency and waste minimization.