Styrenation of oils based on secondary esters of castor oil

The synthesis of styrenated oils based on secondary esters of castor oil is described. The steps of the process are as follows: (1) esterification of castor oil with fatty acids of drying and semidrying oils; (2) splitting of castor oil esters; and (3) conversion of the splitting mixture to either triglyceride or partial glyceride. While the triglyceride samples were styrenated by a conventional process, the partial glycerides' thermally labile azo groups were initially inserted into the oil molecule, and then this intermediate was reacted with styrene. The obtained styrenated oils showed good film properties.