Tetramethylguanidine catalyzed transesterification of fats and oils: A new method for rapid determination of their composition

Abstract

Abstract A new method for the rapid preparation of methyl esters from vegetable oils and fats, using tetramethylguanidine as catalyst, has been developed. This method is compared with the traditional method (Ce 2–66, using 20% BF 3 in methanol) and that proposed by Hartman and Lago (using NH 4 Cl/H 2 SO 4 in methanol). It is shown that the new method produces the methyl esters in quantitative yields and has certain advantages, as it is simpler, cheaper and does not result in isomerization of the fatty acids.