Epoxidised Soybean Oil (ESBO)
About This Product
Epoxidised soybean oil is the largest-volume epoxidised vegetable oil in commerce and the reference product of the category. The epoxide rings are introduced across the unsaturation of the triglyceride by peracid oxidation, and oxirane oxygen content, normally quoted at 6.5% minimum, is the specification that determines its value.
In oleochemical terms it sits between a feedstock and a finished derivative. The epoxide is a reactive handle: ring-opening with alcohols gives polyether polyols for rigid and flexible polyurethane, ring-opening with acids gives ester polyols, and hydrolysis gives polyols directly. That makes ESBO one of the practical routes to bio-based polyurethane, and it is used as such where formulators are displacing petrochemical polyols on renewable-content grounds.
Its second role is as an acid scavenger. The strained ring opens readily in the presence of hydrogen chloride or Lewis-acidic metal chlorides, which is why it functions as a co-stabiliser in halogenated polymer systems as well as a plasticiser in them.
As with all soy-derived materials, availability and price track the soybean oil market rather than the petrochemical chain, and sustainability documentation, origin and non-GMO status should be confirmed at enquiry where the end application requires them.
Specifications
Applications
Packaging Options
- 70 kg/flexitank tote, 23,000 kg/20' container
- 200 kg/drum, 16,000 kg/20' container
- 1000 kg/IBC tote, 20,000 kg/20' container
Start with the process and specification
- End use and required material or feedstock
- Critical analytical limits and physical form
- Handling temperature, storage and pack format
- Volume, documentation needs and delivery destination
Confirm the evidence before ordering
Grade, origin and certification are confirmed for each proposed source. A vegetable-derived feedstock is not automatically certified sustainable, pharmaceutical grade or suitable for every application; request the evidence needed for your intended use.
Product illustrations show representative material and packaging. The quotation confirms the actual source, grade, pack size and labelling.
Review documentation