Scientists say new method more effective in quantifying FFA content

A study from Pune, India has found what scientists claim is a new and effective method for quantifying free fatty acid (FFA) content in vegetable oils, animal fats and biodiesel. According to J.K. Satyarthi and his colleagues, non-edible oils and animal fats, which are increasingly being explored as cheaper, renewable feedstocks for biodiesel production by transesterification with methanol, contain a significant amount of FFA, along with other acidic impurities. The H-1 NMR spectroscopic method used in their study, they said, is more accurate than the conventional titrimetric analysis for the estimation of FFA content, especially in cases where acidic entities other than the FFA are also present in the feedstock. Titrimetric methods, which volumetrically measure how much of one substance is needed to react with another, provide a gross acid value that corresponds to that of FFA and other acidic impurities. However, the NMR method provides the FFA content exclusively. The researchers concluded that in the case of refined edible oils, wherein the other acidic impurities are negligible, the results obtained from the H-1 NMR method are comparable with those from the titrimetic analysis. (June 2, 2009)