Transesterificação etílica de óleo de girassol

Abstract

Sunflower oil has a high ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acid/saturated, wherein the polyunsaturated content is constituted almost entirely by linoleic acid. In this case, it is possible to perform cold transesterification ethyl and production of ethyl esters, using catalysts such as NaOH and KOH. These reactions were performed by mixing the oil with a basic catalytic solution, resulting in a product that has passed through the washing and drying steps to remove the glycerin, alcohol and water, leaving only the ethyl ester of sunflower oil. The products passed through physico-chemical and spectroscopic analysis in the infrared region, showing that the conditions used were effective in the transesterification of sunflower oil.