The Study on Factors Affecting the Synthesis of Methyl Ester Sulfonate from Palm Oil using CaO Catalyst with Microwave-Assisted

Methyl ester sulfonate can be synthesized from palm oil using sodium bisulfite as a sulfonating agent with microwave-assistance as a heating energy source. The use of microwave as an energy source can reduce the reaction time and increase the product. Methyl ester sulfonate can be produced in several stages, that is transesterification, sulfonation, purification, and neutralization. The transesterification process was carried out by reacting palm oil and methanol with a mol ratio of 1:9 and 1%wt of KOH catalyst at a microwave power of 300 watts, and a temperature of 60°C for 10 minutes. Methyl ester was sulfonated using sodium bisulfite at a power of 300 watts for 40 minutes at a temperature of 80°C-100°C. This process also used a CaO catalyst of 1.5% and the mole ratio of methyl ester:NaHSO₃ is 1:2. The resulting methyl ester sulfonate was then purified by the addition of methanol and heated in a microwave power of 300 watts, at temperature 55°C for 10 minutes and then neutralized with NaOH. The resulting methyl ester sulfonate has a density of 0.8626 gr/ml, viscosity of 3.51 cSt, pH of 1.68, yield of 98.67%, and surface tension of 32.23 dyne/cm.