Fig. 12: FTIR spectrum of PKO biolubricant obtained by
epoxidation-esterification of methyl ester sample
3.5. Fatty Acid composition of PKO, and synthesized
biolubricant
The fatty acid compositions of palm kernel oil (PKO), PKO biolubricant
synthesized by transesterification with trimethylolpropane (TMP)
(PKBLT), and PKO biolubricant synthesized by
epoxidation-esterification (PKBLE) methods are presented
in Table 2. Similarly, the fatty acid profile of PKO,
PKBLT, and PKBLE are presented in Figs.
13, 14 and 15, respectively. From the results in the table, it could be
seen that the saturated and unsaturated fatty acid compositions of PKO,
PKBLT and PKBLE, were (72.69 % and
27.31 %), (81.81 % and 18.19 %), and (83.45 % and 16.55 %),
respectively. This is an indication that the PKO, PKBLTand PKBLE samples were all highly saturated. For the PKO
sample, the predominant saturated fatty acid was lauric acid, with 41.85
%. On the other hand, oleic acid was the predominant unsaturated fatty
acid, with 17.45 %. Similar fatty acid composition was obtained for PKO
by Alamu et al. [48]. However, there is the need to further improve
on the saturated level of the PKO using modification prior to their
possible application as biolubricant [4].
Table 2: Fatty acid compositions of the PKO,
PKBLT and PKBLE samples