Synthesis of alpha-Hydroxy Fatty Acids from Fatty Acids by Intermediate alpha-Chlorination with TCCA under Solvent-Free Conditions: A Way to Valorization of Waste Fat Biomasses

Within food wastes, including edible and inedible parts, fat biomasses represent a significant portion, often uneconomically used or improperly disposed causing pollution issues. Interesting perspectives for their management and valorization could be opened by conversion of fatty acids (FAs), which are their main constituents, into alpha-hydroxy FAs (alpha-HFAs), fine chemicals of great, but largely untapped potential, possibly due to current poor availability. Here, a simple and efficient procedure is reported to alpha-chlorinate FAs with trichloroisocyanuric acid (TCCA), a green halogenating agent, under solvent-free conditions and to directly convert the resultant alpha-chloro FAs, without previous purification, into alpha-HFAs. The procedure was applied to stearic, palmitic, and myristic acid and, with analogous success, to their mixture, ad hoc created to simulate a FAs mixture obtainable from a fat biomass.