| Summary: | This study investigates the esterification of hydrolyzed sea mango (Cerbera odollam) oil using several cationic ion exchange resins. The best resins were selected based on their performance in a preliminary esterification process. The best resins were then subsequently used in the optimization of the process parameters. The esterification parameters studied were reaction temperature (40-160°C), reaction time (0-5 h), molar ratio of oil to methanol (0.5:1 to 1:14), and catalyst loading (1-14 wt%). Among the resins studied, Amberlyst 15 was found to be the most promising catalyst in the esterification of the hydrolyzed sea mango oil. Moderate reaction temperatures, 60-100°C, were found to be adequate in converting the hydrolyzed sea mango oil into esters. Further investigation revealed that the esterification reaction using the cationic ion exchange resins proceeds at a fast rate, whereby fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) yield of over 80% at moderate reaction temperature was achievable in less than 1 h of reaction time. Small amount of catalyst, which is less than 5 wt%, was also found to be sufficient in catalyzing the esterification process to an acceptable yield.
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