Modification of Turen Bentonite with AlCl3 for Esterification of Palmitic Acid

Natural Turen bentonite has been modified and applied as catalyst for palmitic acid esterification. Modification of natural Turen bentonite was conducted by cation exchange method using AlCl3 solution. Catalyst characterization was performed on X-ray Fluoroscence, X-ray Diffraction, nitrogen adsorption-desorption and infrared spectroscopy techniques. The catalytic activity test in the esterification reaction of palmitic acid with methanol was conducted by bath at 65 °C with a variation of reaction time of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 h. Catalytic activity has been observed qualitatively using GC-MS and quantitatively by changes in acid number. The analysis showed the formation of Al3+-bentonite. Observation on the elements has shown that the presence of calcium decreased from 10.2% to 4.17%, with an increase of aluminium content from 9.9% to 13%. Diffraction line at 2θ 5.7379o became 5.6489o, along with changes in d-spacing of 15.3895 ？ to 15.6319 ？. The surface area increased from 83.78 m2/g to 91.26 m2/g, while Br？nsted acid sites increased from 10.2 μmol/g to 67.5 μmol/g and Lewis acid sites increased from 94.9 μmol/g to 132 μmol/g. Furthermore, Al3+-bentonite has showed as active catalyst in the esterification reaction of palmitic acid with palmitic acid with conversion of 78.78% for 5 h. ？ 2014 BCREC UNDIP. All rights reserved Received: 24th September 2013; Revised: 31st December 2013; Accepted: 26th January 2014 [How to Cite: Abdulloh, A., Maryam, S., Aminah, N.S., Triyono, T., Trisunaryanti, W., Mudasir, M., Prasetyoko, D. (2014). Modification of Turen’s Bentonite with AlCl3 for Esterification of Palmitic Acid. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 9 (1): 66-73. (doi:10.9767/bcrec.9.1.5513.66-73)] [Permalink/DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.9.1.5513.66-73