Analytical Monitoring of base Catalyzed Methanolysis of Jatropha Curcus Oil by Reversed-Phase High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Assisted by Ultrasonication

Gradient elution reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) was used to monitor the progress of reaction during the base catalyzed transesterification reaction of Jatropha Curcus oil with methanol assisted by ultrasonication. A high performance liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of triacylglycerol, diacylglycerol, monoacylglycerol as well as free fatty acids and their corresponding methyl esters has been developed. The determination of these components was carried out using a 40 min combined linear gradient with aqueous-organic and non-aqueous mobile phase steps 90 % methanol + 10 % water in 10 min, 100 % methanol in 0 min, 60 % methanol + 15 % n-hexane + 25 % propan-2-ol in 30 min, followed by isocratic elution with 90 % methanol + 10 % water for last 10 min was used for fast monitoring of conversion of Jatropha curcus oil to fatty acid methyl esters. Individual calibration curves obtained with UV detection at 215 nm were found to be use for quantitative analysis of methyl esters and acylglycerol. The use of the RP-HPLC method in the elution of the mechanism of base catalyzed transesterification in biodiesel production was described.