DefinePK

Abstract

The synthesis of surfactant fatty alkanolamide i.e. coco mono-ethanolamide was observed in this study. The fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) resulted from trans-esterification of coconut oil, treated with mono-ethanolamine to be coco mono-ethanolamide, using ZrCl4 as a catalyst and tert-amyl alcohol as a solvent. The observed reaction variables are the solvent ratio and stirring speed, and their effect on the converted FAME. The results showed that the 4:1 (v/w FAME) solvent ratio, and 300 rpm stirring speed gave the best results. Structural tests performed with FT-IR spectroscopy show that the surfactant obtained includes the fatty alkanolamide group. The results of this study are expected to produce cheap fatty alkanolamide surfactants obtained from renewable raw materials.