Continuous Flow Upgrading of Fatty Esters into Functional Compounds

One challenge in sustainability strategies for chemical industries is valorizing or dealing with waste and by-products. In this context, soapstock, a by-product generated in the refining of vegetable oils, stands out as a source of free fatty acids (FFAs) that can be converted into higher value-added products. The FFAs, isolated as their respective esters, can be used as raw material for different upgrading routes. To date, it has been possible to develop and expand a continuous-flow biocatalysed ammonolysis methodology using acetonitrile as a solvent, obtaining fatty amides with excellent conversions and yields. A continuous-flow Hofmann rearrangement methodology for the synthesis of fatty carbamates and fatty amines (indirectly) using hypervalent iodine reagents has also been developed, with promising results. And, finally, photoinitiated thio-ene addition has shown potential for continuous-flow application for synthesis of monomers.