Synthesis of diethanolamide from palm kernel oil using cadida antractica lipase

Abstract

Synthesis of diethanolamide using transamidation reaction from crude palm kernel oil (PKO) and diethanolamine (DEA) is investigation in this study. The catalysts used are sodium methoxide at a concentration of 1% and lipase from cadida antractica at a concentration of 1%. The reaction was carried out in a batch reactor at temperatures of 60, 80 and 120 ℃, pressure of 5 bars, molar ratios (DEA: PKO) of 3:1, 6:1 and 15:1 and reaction times from 2 to 8 hours using sodium methoxide as catalyst. Temperatures of 40, 50 and 60 ℃ and reaction times from 6 to 24 hours were used with lipase. The results show that the optimum conditions when sodium methoxide was used as catalyst were a temperature of 60 ℃, a molar ratio of DEA to PKO of 6:1 and reaction time of 4 hours. Diethanolamide concentration of 93.24% was obtained at this condition. When lipase was used as catalyst, the optimum conditions were a temperature of 60 ℃ and a molar ratio of DEA to PKO of 3:1 for 24 hours. Diethanolamide concentration in reaction product of 10.20% was obtained. The second order kinetic was found to give suitable description of this reaction rate for both catalysts, and the rate constants of PKO were estimated to be 1.11 and 1.00 l/mol hr.g-cat, respectively. It is concluded that the rate reaction using sodium methoxide as catalyst is facter than using lipase as catalyst.