Babassu, lauric fats

You are to synthesize the ethyl ester of lauric add in Experiment [8A]. Laurie acid, CH3(CH2)ioC02H (dodecanoic acid), is one of the four most common fatty acids found in naturally occurring triglycerides. It is named for the laurel botanical family from which it was first isolated in 1842. It is the most abundant of the fatty acids isolated from the vegetable oils of palm kernel oil (52%), the seed fat of Elaeis guineensis of coconut oil (48%), Cocos nucifera and of babassu oil (A6%), Attalea funifera. 

Coconut oil and palm kernel oil, a coproduct of palm oil, comprise less than 5% of the total natural fats and oils, but they are important feedstocks of the oleochemical industry. Coconut oil is commercially a major source of lauric acid. Together with palm kernel oil and, to a small extent, babassu oil, it belongs to the so-called lauric oils, which are characterized by their high lauric oil content of approximately 50%. 

Commercial fatty acids coming fi-om natural somces are generally not pure and involve mixtures of different fatty acids with various chain lengths and unsaturation degrees (up to three tt bonds in linolenic acid). The carbon chain lengths are usually even numbered, except for some animal fats that show traces of pentadecanoic (C15) and mar-garic (C17) acids. Cie and, more especially, Cjg chain lengths are the most abundant in almost all natural sources (e.g., beef tallow oil) except coconut, palmkemel, and babassu oils for which the lauric acid (C ) is preponderant. 

Many palms produce in their fhiits high amounts of lauric oils (- fats and oils). Examples are - oil palm, -+coconut, - babassu and date. From Co-pemicia cerifera (- camauba), a wax is obtained. There are also numerous p. that contain sugars (- sugar palms processing). 

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