Abstract
THE hydrolysis of fats in a dilute sulphuric acid medium using a catalyst commonly known as Twitchell reagent has been believed for nearly half a century1 to take place at the interface of oil and water, the reagent fulfilling the function of an efficient emulsifier. Recently, however, Lascaray2 suggested that the reaction is essentially homogeneous and is carried out in the oil phase under the influence of water dissolved in this phase. Convincing as his arguments are, he did not consider the kinetic order of the reaction, the study of which proved valuable in elucidating the related fat hydrolysis by acidification3. This omission was probably due to the existence of an induction period in the Twitchell process which tends to obscure its kinetics.
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References
Lewkowitsch, J., J. Soc. Chem. Indust., 22, 67 (1903).
Lascaray, L., Indust. Eng. Chem., 41, 786 (1949).
Suen, T. J., and Chien, T.-P., Indust. Eng. Chem., 33, 1043 (1941).
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HARTMAN, L. Kinetics of the Twitchell Hydrolysis. Nature 167, 199 (1951). https://doi.org/10.1038/167199a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/167199a0
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