Preparation of malonaldehyde acetals by ozonolysis of polyunsaturated fatty esters

Malonaldehyde acetals were prepared in more than a 70% yield by ozonolysis of the methyl esters of linseed oil, safflower oil and linoleic acid, and by ozonolysis of linseed oil alone. Malonaldehyde tetramethyl acetal could not be separated readily from caproaldehyde dimethyl acetal by fractional distillation. However, conversion of the methyl acetals to propylene glycol acetals resulted in sufficient spread in boiling points for their effective separation by distillation.