OPTIMIZATION OF THE SYNTHESIS OF A SPERM WHALE OIL ANALOG

The development and optimization of the synthesis of an analogue of sp erm whale oil have been carried out. The product is an ester with simi lar characteristics to those of natural oils, and can be used as a sub stitute for these. A Factorial Design of Experiments and a Central Com posite Design have been used in the synthesis of this fine chemical. T he variables chosen were temperature and initial catalyst concentratio n. Response surface models have been found to represent the yield of e ster.