The Effect of Auto-Catalysis to the Bioalcohol Production through Partial Saponification Method and Ultrasonification using Palm Kernel Oil

The title of this project is `The Effect of Auto-Catalyis to the Bioalcohol Production through
Partial Saponification Method and Ultrasonification Using Palm Kernel Oil'. This project is to
investigate the effect of autocatalysis addition using a novel method developed by Universiti
Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) Biofuel Cluster. The effect of ultrasonification for Bioalcohol
production will also be experimented. The main problem that drove to this experiment is that the
yield of the bioalcohol produced without the use of any catalyst is very low. However, this
project will focus on the effect of methanol and ethanol to be the catalyst, a reaction that is called
an autocatalytic reaction. In other words, this project will investigate if the saponification
reaction is indeed an autocatalytic reaction and that by doing so can also increase the yield. A
suggested route was partial saponification of palm kernel oil (PKO). Approximately 200mL of
PKO and 40 mL of calcium hydroxide under 2 hours reaction time of 60°C. This mixture is
poured into the Erlenmeyer flask and by using the magnetic stirrer, a uniform mixing is
achieved. This project will compare between ethanol and methanol as catalyst. Also, the result
for ultrasonification method will be taken and discussed.