EXTRACTION OF RESIDUAL GLYCERIDES FROM FATTY ACIDS PRODUCED BY PALM OIL LIPOLYSIS

• Main Author: Rizka Fadhillah, Dinda
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/42595
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

The technology of palm oil lipolysis that release up to 70% free fatty acids is being developed at the Chemical Engineering Department of Institute of Technology Bandung. Technology for separating the lipolysis products into fatty acids and residual glycerides (mostly monoglycerides) has also to be developed in order to compose a technological package of fatty acids supply for the production of green diesel and biogasoline from fatty acids via decarboxylation and pyrolysis of the divalent basic metal soaps. Because both the fatty acids and the glycerides have high boiling points, solvent extraction is a most appropriate technique to separate the residual glycerides from free fatty acids. The solvents studied in this research were dichloromethane, diethyl ether, mixture of dichloromethane - diethyl ether (50% - 57%-v dichloromethane), methanol, cyclohexane, and acetonitrile. Other variables investigated are solvent to feed volume ratios, 1/3 and 1/1 for dichlorometane – diethyl ether; 1/1 and 100/8 for methanol; 1/1 and 5/2 for cyclohexane; and 1/1 for acetonitrile. The extraction is carried out under 150-200 rpm agitation at 40-45oC for 15-30 minutes. The fatty material that represent the lipolysis product has acid and saponification values of, respectively, 164.9 and 223.9 mg-KOH/g. The research results showed firstly that mixtures of dichloromethane-diethyl eter are not satisfactory solvents; the best combination, namely that composed of 50%-v dichloromethane – 50%-v diethyl ether, gave extract and raffinate with not drastically different acid values, that are 131.8 dan 172.7 mg KOH/g. The use of methanol as solvent produces extract and raffinate with acid values of 168.8 and 120.3 mg KOH/g, respectively. Using cyclohexane as solvent was also not promising, the acid values of the extract and the raffinate are, respectively, 176.8 dan 113.5 mg KOH/g sample. The promising solvent is acetonitrile, which resulted in an extract and a raffinate with acid values of, respectively, 157.5 dan 62.6 mg KOH/g sample. The use of acetonitrile as solvent is therefore considered appropriate to be investigated further.