Acidity In Fatty Acid Essay

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This experiment was carried out to determine the acidity number in fatty acid. The purpose of determining the acidity number in fatty acid is to obtain the refined oil samples with potential corrosion problem. In conjunction to that, the lower the value of acidity number in fatty acid of a refined oil sample, the better the quality of the refined oil sample. Hence, it is important to know the acidity number in fatty acid of a refined oil in order to distinguish the better one. This ensure one to have a healthier lifestyle.
This experiment determines the amount of sodium hydroxide, NaOH that needed to neutralize a certain measurement of acidity in fatty acid of a two gram of refined oil sample. NaOH played the role as a catalyst in this experiment. A catalyst is used to reduce the amount of the remains and help produce a larger yield of product. Furthermore, isopropanol that was added into the flask containing the refined oil sample is used to dissolve the oil. The flask was then heated to about 40 ̊C on a hot plate to prevent any formation of bubbles and also to completely dissolve the …show more content…

H3O+ + OH- → H2O + H2O ------ (ChemPRIME, 2010)
When titration was carried out, fatty acid will react with sodium hydroxide and produce soap and glycerol. This process is known as saponification. The soap produced are sodium salt of long chain fatty acids.
(Amrita, 2013)
Alternative Method: Measurement of metal-fatty acid complexes
This method is to detect complexes form by fatty acids and some metals (Cu/ Co) in spectrophotometry. Thus long duration and poorer sensitivity may occur. Yet this sensitivity can be improved by using radiochemical assay of complex of fatty acids with

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