Process for the oxidation of fatty acids

A process for the synthesis of azelaic acid by oxidation of oleic acid in a batch mode, the process comprising:

• a) dissolving an oleic acid in a solvent to obtain a solution;
• b) purging O2 containing O3 into the solution at a temperature ranging from −15° C. to 0° C. for a time period ranging from 5 to 60 minutes to produce a mixture of azelaic acid and nonanoic acid;
• and
• c) continuing purging of oxygen at a temperature ranging from −15° C. to 0° C. for 30 minutes to remove unreacted ozone, wherein
• the percent conversion of the oleic acid to the mixture of azelaic acid and nonanoic acid is in the range of 80 to 100%,
• the solvent is selected from the group consisting of ethanol, methanol, acetone, isopropanol, n-butanol, ethyl acetate, dichloromethane, water and any combination thereof, and
• the process is catalyst-free and co-oxidant-free.

A process for the synthesis of azelaic acid by oxidation of oleic acid in a continuous mode, the process comprising:

• a) dissolving an oleic acid in a solvent to form an oleic acid solution;
• b) pumping O2 containing O3 in a flow reactor;
• c) pumping the oleic solution of step (a) by keeping a gas phase to liquid phase volume flow rate ratio of 25:2500;
• and
• d) continuing pumping O2 containing O3 in the flow reactor without changing the liquid phase volume flow rate ratio with the temperature of the flow reactor ranging from −10° C. to 10° C. to produce a mixture of azelaic acid and nonanoic acid, wherein
• the percent conversion of oleic acid to a mixture of azelaic acid and nonanoic acid ranges from 80% to 100%,
• the solvent is selected from the group consisting of ethanol, methanol, acetone, isopropanol, n-butanol, ethyl acetate, dichloromethane, water and any combination thereof, and
• the process is catalyst-free and co-oxidant-free.