[Analysis of terpineol and improvement of technology process in terpineol production]

A method for the separation and determination of terpineol oil by temperature programming capillary gas chromatography has been established. An OV-1 fused silica capillary column (30 m x 0.32 mm i.d. x 0.25 microns) was used with a temperature increase rates of 1.5 degrees C/min from 70 degrees C to 100 degrees C, 5 degrees C/min from 100 degrees C to 160 degrees C, 10 degrees C/min from 160 degrees C to 220 degrees C and then hold for 2 min. The main chemical components and their relative contents of the terpineol oil, terpinene oil, red and yellow oils of middle oils in the terpineol production and natural terpineol were analyzed by capillary gas chromatography-Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (GC-FTIR) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The typical chromatograms of these oils are given. It has offered the information of the boiling points of the chemical compounds, and it is helpful to reutilize them after their separation by rectification. The results showed that the main compounds of the heavy cut of terpineol were longifolene and beta-caryophyllene. They are from the raw material, terpinene oil. The main compounds in the natural terpineol oil were eucalyptol, trans-4-thujanol, p-isopropenyl toluene, cis-4-thujanol, linalool, camphor, borneol, 4-terpineol, alpha-terpineol and safrole. The contents of beta-terpineol and gamma-terpineol were not so high as in synthetic terpineol.