Sustainable formation of fatty acid alkyl esters by transesterification of triglycerides with chlorotrimethylsilane

A new efficient and sustainable method for the transesterification of triglycerides and production of fatty acid alkyl esters in acidic conditions is disclosed. The transesterification process can be extended, with the same efficiency, to methyl, ethyl and n-butyl esters. The method utilizes chlorotrimethylsilane as the mediator for the transesterification process, with a slight excess of the alcohol reagent and a low temperature (60°C), without the use of water in any step of the process. The reaction provides a perfect separation of the glyceric phase and the fatty acid alkyl esters, which can be recovered, starting from pure vegetable oil, with high conversion and high purity. The method was positively extended to animal fats, exhausted vegetable oils and highly acidic oils without any pretreatment. © 2012 The Royal Society of Chemistry.