Experimental Optimization for the Synthesis of Fatty Acid Amides from Coconut Oil

Fatty acid amide (FAA) was synthesized from coconut oil-derived methyl esters (FAME) via aminolysis with monoethanolamine (MEA) using calcium oxide (CaO) as a heterogeneous catalyst. The process was optimized through a central composite design (CCD), evaluating the effects of reaction temperature (100 ÷ 130°C), MEA/FAME molar ratio (1 ÷ 3), and catalyst loading (1 ÷ 3 wt%). Response surface methodology (RSM) and ANOVA analysis showed that all three factors significantly influenced the yield, with optimal conditions found at 118 ÷ 122°C, MEA/FAME = 2.1 ÷ 2.3, and catalyst loading of 2.1 ÷ 2.3%. The regression model demonstrated high predictive power (R² = 0.9738), supporting its use in future scale-up.