Relation between the effect of increasing reaction time, reaction temperature and ratio of substrate on incorporation of lauric acid into palm kernel oil

Abstract

Lauric acid is a medium chain fatty acid that is composed of 12 C atoms, also found in palm kernel oil (PKO). PKO belongs to medium chain triglycerides (MCT) containing high levels of lauric acid which has health benefits. This research aims to find the relationship between the effect of increasing reaction time and reaction temperature and the mole ratio of substrate on the incorporation of lauric acid into palm kernel oil. From the research results it was revealed that increasing the reaction time up to 24 hours could increase the incorporation of lauric acid but decreased if the reaction time was increased to 40 hours. Furthermore, an increase in the reaction temperature from 44°C to 64°C increased the incorporation of lauric acid, if it was increased from 64°C to 84°C it resulted in a decrease in incorporation of lauric acid, if it was increased again to 104°C it resulted in incorporation of lauric acid -21.6%. In increasing the substrate ratio, the higher the substrate ratio (1:11), the higher the incorporation of lauric acid.