Minor component extraction from palm methyl ester using potassium carbonate glycerol based deep eutectic solvent (DES)

Abstract

Biodiesel is well known as an alternative to petroleum fuel diesel and has an advantage over petroleum diesel such as lower exhaust emission and renewability, however, the high cost of biodiesel production still becomes an obstacle to overcome. The extraction of valuable minor components from methyl esters, such as vitamin E and carotenoids, was done to reduce the production cost of biodiesel. Biodiesel (methyl ester) was made by using a transesterification reaction, which involves the reaction of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) and methanol. Methyl ester was then separated from the by-product, glycerol. The methyl ester was then mixed with potassium carbonate-glycerol based Deep Eutectic Solvent (DES) to extract the minor components. DES usage to extract minor components showed that DES can be used to extract vitamin E and carotenoids; while purifies the methyl ester simultaneously.