Pengaruh suhu input pada proses pembuatan surfaktan methyl ester sulfonic acid (mesa) dari metil ester stearin

Abstract

Methyl ester sulfonic acid (MESA) is an intermediate product that synthesized during methyl ester sulfonates (MES) production by continuous sulfonation of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) using SO3 as reactant in a fallingfilm reactor. MES is an anionic surfactant that has been widely used in detergent products. Surfactant or surface-active agent is a compound having both polar and non-polar groups in the same molecule and forming head-tail configuration, thus able to reduce surface and interfacial tensions also to increase the stability of dispersed particle. There is a growing interest in MES hence its feedstock availability and appreciation for excellent surfactant and environment. MES has several outstanding surfactant properties: excellent resistance to water hardness and excellent detergency for carbon chains C14 to C18. Palm stearin methyl ester is a potential material as MES feedstock in Indonesia as the country with the largest palm oil producer in the world. Palm stearin is renewable, biodegradable and rich of C16 and C18 fatty acids which have good detergency and tolerant to Ca ion.