The present critical review reports the recent progress of the last 15 years in the selective epoxidation of vegetable oils and their derivatives, in particular unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) and fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs). Epoxidized vegetable oils (EVOs) have drawn much attention in recent years in the chemical industry since they are environmentally friendly, biodegradable, renewable, highly available and non-toxic. Four major types of catalysts are used to produce epoxidized fatty acid compounds: homogeneous, heterogeneous, polyoxometalates and lipases. EVOs are currently produced in industry by a homogeneous catalytic conventional epoxidation process, in which the unsaturated oils are converted with percarboxylic acids, such as peracetic or performic acid. However, this method suffers from several drawbacks such as (1) relatively low selectivity for epoxides due to oxirane ring opening, (2) corrosion problems caused by the strong acids in an oxidizing environment, etc. Thus, in view of the principles of green chemistry, the development of new catalytic systems for the selective epoxidation of vegetable oils and their derivatives is an actual task. Furthermore, in our opinion, epoxidized fatty acids and epoxidized fatty acid methyl esters can be a promising substitute for EVOs because the starting materials for their production have a lower viscosity and higher reactivity, which will significantly increase the productivity of the epoxidation process. In this work, we tried to determine the prospects of using the main catalytic methods in industry to obtain epoxidized fatty acid compounds.

The present critical review reports progress over the last 10 years in the heterogeneous photocatalytic conversion to produce value-added organic products that have the potential to provide a green synthesis route for a number of industrially important chemicals. Most attention has been paid to the oxidation and reduction of organic compounds in the presence of photocatalysts. There has also been consideration of the conversion of biomass. Nowadays, titanium dioxide is the most abundant photocatalytic material due to its photoactivity under ultraviolet illumination, stability under commonly used reaction conditions and high surface area. Despite obvious achievements in the field of photocatalysis, the most significant limitation of TiO₂ is its large band gap for different crystalline phases, which makes it possible to use only ultraviolet illumination to initiate photocatalytic processes. With a view to efficient solar-energy utilisation, the development of new photocatalysts, which are sensitive to visible light, is an important direction in the theory and practice of heterogeneous photocatalysis. In this regard, a special focus of this critical review is on the use of metal–organic frameworks in photocatalytic reactions because they have emerged as an interesting class of materials for applications in organic photoreactions due to their flexible tunability in composition, structure and functional properties, facilitated adsorption towards chemicals, and efficient light absorption.

Green chemistry provides a broad range of possibilities for researchers to design products and processes that minimise or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances in chemical engineering. The use of renewable feedstocks coupled with catalysis is one of the key principles of green chemistry. In this regard, non-edible vegetable oils and fatty acid methyl esters (biodiesel) produced by the transesterification of vegetable oils have a great potential in the chemical industry. Their catalytic conversion allows them to produce a wide range of useful chemicals. At the same time, the use of fatty acid methyl esters has advantages and they are more preferable as compared to vegetable oils due to fewer impurities, lower viscosity, etc. The production of biodiesel is associated with the formation of another important and versatile chemical, glycerol, which is currently produced in the world only through the transesterification of vegetable oils. This critical review highlights the recent achievements in the green and sustainable production of various chemicals from fatty acid methyl esters, including oxidation, amidation, hydrogenation, deoxygenation, ethoxylation, metathesis, and isomerisation reactions. A special focus is given to the applicability of each method in industry. We suppose that this comprehensive review will provide insight into the most significant ways to convert fatty esters into valuable products since they are “rough diamonds” and have a great future in the chemical industry.