Preparation of Glycerol Monolaurate Catalyzed by Acidic Ionic Liquid

Glycerol monolaurate(GML) was prepared by hydroxyl protection.The esterification of solketal and lauric acid was investigated with ionic liquid 1-methyl-3-(3-sulfopropyl) imidazolium hydrogen sulfate as catalyst.Then,GML was produced by the deprotection of isopropylidene glyceryl monolaurate.The results showed that the content and yield of GML could reach 77.0% and 69.3%,respectively when n(lauric acid) ∶ n(solketal) ∶ n(ionic liquid) = 1∶ 1.2∶ 0.06 with toluene as water removal agent for the azeotropic removal of water,under reflux for 3 h.Compared with the traditional method,ionic liquid catalysis for preparation of GML has lower reaction temperature,shorter time and a better reusability of the catalyst.