Abstract
The oxidative decomposition of t-butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and the formation of its dimers during thermal oxidation of saturated and unsaturated triacylglycerols were studied in relation to the initial concentration of BHA.
BHA was very stable toward oxidation in glycerol trilaurate and a small amount of BHA was oxidized to dimers, especially to the diphenyl ether-type dimer. A small amount of BHA was oxidized and the total amounts of its monomer and dimers decreased with decrease in its initial concentration. The quantities of the dimers formed in a reaction mixture at a low initial concentration of BHA were smaller than those at a high initial concentration.
BHA is considerably unstable toward oxidation in glycerol trilinoleate. The stability of its monomer during thermal oxidation decreased with decrease in its initial concentration, and the yields of its dimers also decreased. When the initial concentration of BHA was 0. 1%, its monomer disappeared rapidly in the reaction mixture, and none of its dimers could be detected.
The oxidative decomposition of BHA in a mixture of glycerol trilaurate and glycerol trilinoleate was also accelerated by a decrease in its initial concentration.
