pH‐metric determination of acid values in vegetable oils without titration

Abstract

Abstract A new method for determining acid values in vegetable oils has been developed for a nontitration pH‐metric technique with a reagent consisting of 0.20 M triethanolamine in a 1∶1 solution of water and isopropanol. The emulsive properties of this reagent provide rapid (within a minute) and quantitative extraction of free fatty acids from an oil into the solvent phase. Acid values were determined by measuring conditional pH of the emulsified reagent in a pH‐meter with an aqueous reference electrode. Three different applications of this technique are discussed.