Daicel Chemical Industries, Ltd.

Hidetoshi Omori

Toshio Endo

The present invention relates to a polyglycerol significantly reduced in content of a polyglycerol having a cyclic structure formed by removal of a water molecule from a polyglycerol molecule, and to a fatty acid ester of a polyglycerol having excellent surface activity. 2 mole or more of glycidol and a catalyst are successively added to 1 mole of glycerol for a reaction to obtain a polyglycerol, in which a ratio of [total polyglycerol (1)] to [total polyglycerol (2) having a cyclic structure] is [70% or more]/[30% or less] (the total of both is 100% by weight) in terms of an intensity ratio determined by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry; and an average polymerization degree 'n' is 2 or more. A reaction of a polyglycerol with a fatty acid provides the corresponding a fatty acid ester of the polyglycerol.

Polyglycerol, polyglycerol/fatty acid ester, and processes for producing these

A lactone compound represented by following General Formula (1), such as &#x3b5;-caprolactone, is reacted in the presence of a powdered activated carbon where necessary with an initiator such as a polyhydric alcohol, an aliphatic alcohol, or an aliphatic carboxylic acid to thereby yield, for example, a polylactone, a polylactone alkyl ether, or a polylactone alkyl ester. [Chemical Formula 1]  Wherein Ris an alkylene group having two to eighteen carbon atoms which may be substituted with one or more alkyl groups each having one to ten carbon atoms. Accordingly, a target compound can be produced in a high yield with high quality, from which the catalyst can be easily removed.

Process and activated carbon catalyst for ring-opening polymerization of lactone compounds

A polyglycerol composition contains diglycerol, triglycerol, and tetraglycerol each in a content of 5 percent by weight or more, has a total content of diglycerol, triglycerol, and tetraglycerol of 75 percent by weight or more, has a total content of higher polyglycerol components of 10 percent by weight or less, the higher polyglycerol components each having a degree of polymerization of 7 or higher, and is substantially free from chlorine atom. A process prepares a polyglycerol composition by reacting glycerol and/or a polyglycerol with glycidol in the presence of an activated carbon catalyst.

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Ohtake, Japan

Hidetoshi Omori