Lactones as biofuel

By Simon Cotton2008-09-01T00:00:00

Source: istockphoto

Simon Cotton takes a look at those compounds that find themselves in the news or relate to our everyday lives.

What is a lactone?

They are cyclic esters. The γ- (five-membered ring) and δ-lactones (six-membered ring) are formed by a dehydration reaction involving an acid group (-COOH) with an alcohol group (-OH) in the precursor hydroxy carboxylic acid. Many lactones occur in a wide range of natural substances.

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