Abstract
The procedure for preparation of fatty acid methyl ester using boron trifluoride-methanol reagent was examined by varying the reaction conditions. Byproducts were observed to occur during the esterification of oleic and linolic acids. The amounts of these byproducts depended on the relative amounts of the unsaturated fatty acids against the amount of boron trifluoride.
One of the byproducts formed from oleic acid was confirmed to be a methoxy derivative of methyl stearate. The another formed from oleic acid was believed as methyl substituted methyl stearate.
