Investigation of the Influence of Mixer in the Synthesis of Biodegradable Derivates of Fatty Acids

Surfactants are essential in both everyday life and industrial applications, functioning as detergents, emulsifiers, and stabilizers in sectors such as food processing, cosmetics, and manufacturing. Among them, glycerol monooleate (GMO) is a biodegradable nonionic surfactant of particular interest; however, technological aspects of its production, including the influence of mixing conditions, remain insufficiently explored. In this study, a biodegradable nonionic surfactant was synthesized from vegetable oil-based raw materials, and its properties were evaluated using tests relevant to petroleum industry applications. The effect of different mixer types on surfactant synthesis was systematically investigated. Anchor, propeller, turbine, and static mixers were compared under controlled reaction conditions. The static mixer resulted in more than 90 wt% GMO content after 240 min, while dynamic mixers reached 65–80 wt% under identical reaction conditions. The static mixer reduced the effective reaction time by approximately 30–40%, highlighting the strong influence of mixing mechanism on reaction performance. The results demonstrate that mixer type has a significant impact on reaction performance and product composition. Among the investigated configurations, the static mixer provided the most effective mixing conditions, resulting in higher Reynolds numbers, accelerated reaction progress, and increased active ingredient concentration. These findings emphasize the critical role of mixing in optimizing biodegradable surfactant synthesis and support the importance of mixer selection in process design and scale-up.