SEPARATION OF SATURATED AND UNSATURATED FATTY ACID

• Main Author: Sri Rahmah, Azzah
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/87036
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Fatty acids are widely utilized across various industries, including soap, rubber, cosmetics, wax, surfactants, textiles, and lubricants. Among these, Tall Oil Fatty Acid (TOFA) holds particular importance due to its versatile applications. TOFA contains approximately 90% unsaturated fatty acids, composed of around 48% oleic acid, 37% linoleic acid, and 2.5% other fatty acids. However, as a forest-derived product, the availability of TOFA is becoming limited. A promising alternative is rice bran oil, which has a fatty acid composition similar to that of TOFA. Rice bran oil contains approximately 37% oleic acid, 36% linoleic acid, and 23% palmitic acid. By removing its saturated fraction, the remaining unsaturated fatty acids closely resemble the composition of TOFA. This study focuses on separating the saturated fraction of rice bran fatty acids to produce an unsaturated fraction comparable to TOFA. The separation was carried out using a solvent crystallization method with aqueous ethanol as the solvent. Crystallization was performed at various temperatures and water-to-ethanol ratios. The unsaturated fraction's content was determined by measuring its iodine value. The results demonstrated that solvent crystallization effectively enriched unsaturated fatty acids in the unsaturated fraction while concentrating saturated fatty acids in the saturated fraction. The best separation was achieved at a water-to-ethanol ratio of 1:20 and a temperature range of -10°C to -15°C, yielding an unsaturated fraction with the highest iodine value (127 g I?/100 g). Although this iodine value was slightly lower than TOFA's (155 g I?/100 g), the resulting unsaturated fatty acid fraction remained liquid at room temperature, similar to TOFA.