Oxyfunctionalization of Turpentine for Fuel Applications

β-Pinene and paraformaldehyde can be activated over catalyst to preferentially produce nopol. Tin supported over MCM-41 has shown high activity in this reaction, achieving complete conversion of pure β-pinene and high selectivity toward nopol (>96%) with a key role of solvents such as toluene and ethyl acetate. In this work, the Prins reaction was performed with turpentine as β-pinene source, avoiding the use of solvents and reaching complete conversion of β-pinene and high selectivity toward nopol (>99%). In this case, α-pinene, which is a component of turpentine, can play the role of solvent. Besides, α-terpineol is also a product of the reaction, probably due to the hydration of limonene and α-pinene. The reaction was scaled-up to produce up to 3.5 L of oxyturpentine (oxyfunctionalized turpentine) with promising results. Sn-MCM-41 catalyst was synthesized by the hydrothermal method at room temperature, providing an easy scale-up of the process. On the basis of the high performance of the production reaction of oxyturpentine, it is a promising biofuel, although a complete assessment of its properties and performance in engine tests is pending.