Abstract
Isolation of lauric acid from crude coconut oil (CCO) has been done. Neutralization of CCO using 30% Na2CO3 solution could decrease its acid value from 1.69 to 0.48. Transesterification reactions of neutral coconut oil with methanol and K2CO3 at 55°C in 3hours produced methyl laurate in 52% purity. Methyl laurate with 87% purity could be isolated by fractionatal distillation at 130-140°C. Hydrolysis of methyl laurate with NaOH produced solid lauric acidin 84% yield. Lauric acid at 5% concentration could inhibit the growth of all bacteria tested but it is still lower than Ciprofloxacin.
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