Ethoxylated glycerol esters and method for the production thereof

A method for preparing a mixture of ethoxylated glycerol esters of formula (I),

• the method comprising bringing ethylene oxide and one or more triglycerides of formula (II),
• into contact with a calcium catalyst (C), wherein
• R1, R2, and R3 in formulae (I) and (II) are each independently selected from saturated or unsaturated, linear or branched C7-C24 alkyl chains,
• m, n, and o in formula (I) are each independently an integer from 1 to 200, with the proviso that the number-average of the sum of m+n+o is greater than 5, and
• the calcium catalyst (C) is obtainable by a reaction involving
• (A) calcium hydroxide,
• (B) a carboxylic acid represented by formula (III),
• wherein
• the carboxylic acid comprises 3 to 40 carbon atoms,
• R4 is selected from saturated or unsaturated, linear or branched
• C1-C30 alkyl chains,
• R5, R6, R7, and R8 are hydrogen, and
• p is an integer number from 1 to 11;
• and
• (AC) an acid selected from acids of sulfur oxides and phosphorus oxides and having a pKa value of 3 or less,
• wherein
• the calcium hydroxide (A) and the carboxylic acid (B) are present in a molar ratio (A):
• (B) of from 1:1 to 1:5;
• and
• the calcium hydroxide (A) and the acid (AC) are present in a molar ratio (A):(AC) of from 5:1 to 1:1.