Cradle to Gate
Identity ID
7d7d1ef6-9a97-4c9d-8a8b-060bf1402371
Materials
Associated ID
ab7da0dc-f6a8-485d-a121-1709af9b7e8e
Included activities starts
Included activities ends
Description
Sebacic acid is mainly used in fields such as chemical synthesis, engineering plastics manufacture, surfactants, lubricants, coatings and adhesives, pharmaceutical intermediate synthesis and cosmetic raw materials, and is especially suitable for plasticiser and polymer material systems with requirements for low-temperature toughness and ageing resistance. Sebacic acid is modelled as a pure substance; when modelling this substance the user needs to add a solvent of their choice in the model; the dataset contains the main raw and auxiliary materials, energy, waste and atmospheric emissions of the production process, in which the preliminary treatment of wastewater in the auxiliary units and the waste gas treatment process are included within the dataset boundary, and infrastructure such as the manufacture of production equipment and the construction of plant buildings is not included within the dataset boundary; the data inventory is formed by merging data from multiple sources; the production activities of this product include hydrolysis, cracking, neutralisation, acidification crystallisation, and washing and drying. Fatty acid, sec-octanol, glycerol and sodium sulfate are by-products of this production process.
Activity Description
The production activities of this product include hydrolysis, cracking, neutralization, acidification and crystallization, washing and drying and other processes.
Process Description
Sebacic acid (also known as sebacic acid) has the chemical formula C10H18O4, CAS number 111-20-6, and is a white crystalline powder or flake crystal under normal temperature and pressure. It is odorless and tasteless, with a melting point of about 134°C and a boiling point of about 374°C. It is easy to sublimate. It is slightly soluble in water, and its solubility increases in hot water. It is miscible with organic solvents such as ethanol, ether, acetone, and benzene. It has stable chemical properties and has the typical characteristics of dicarboxylic acids. It can undergo esterification and amidation reactions with alcohols, amines, etc. It has good thermal stability and is not easy to decompose at high temperatures. Industrially, it is mainly used in chemical synthesis (used as a raw material to prepare high-performance plasticizers) and engineering plastics manufacturing (synthesizing polyamide resin, used for mechanical parts, wire and cable sheathing); it is also used in surfactants and lubricants, coatings and adhesives, and can also be used in pharmaceutical intermediate synthesis, cosmetic raw materials and other fields. It is especially suitable for plasticizers and polymer material systems that require low-temperature toughness and aging resistance.
Time period
2014
2026
Geography
China
Macroeconomic value
Business-as-Usual
Data validation
Yes
Technology
Current Technology
Technology comment
The castor oil cracking method is the traditional mainstream technology for the production of sebacic acid. It is produced by cracking and acidifying castor oil under alkaline conditions. The process is mature and the raw materials are renewable. It accounts for more than 90% of the domestic sebacic acid market. This data set represents this mainstream technology:
1. Hydrolysis: The raw materials castor oil and water are hydrolyzed under the action of catalyst zinc oxide;
2. Sedimentation and stratification to obtain ricinoleic acid;
3. After adding phenol and sodium hydroxide, a cracking reaction occurs;
4. Add sulfuric acid to cause neutralization reaction and then carry out acidification and crystallization;
5. After further washing, dehydration and air drying, the finished product sebacic acid is obtained.