2.1.2. Decarboxylation
For subsequent decarboxylation, approximately 0.9 g of the obtained saturated fatty acids and o.05-0.45 g of Pd/C were placed into the 5 ml reaction vessel with Hastelloy balls. The inside of thc reaction vessel was then purged and pressurized with N2 or H2 gas to be 1 MPa which is a favorable pressure for decarboxylation reaction 1261. The decarboxylation was, then, conducted with the molten salt bath at 300 oC for 120 min, which is an appropriate condition reported by Lestari et al. [27 l, and quenched into the water bath in the same way mentioned above. After the reaction, the obtained products dissolved in THF were taken out from the vessel, sonicated for 30 min, and the catalyst was removed with the filter paper. After removing THF by the evaporator, the decarboxylated products were obtained to determine its yield. To clarify the decarboxylation reaction of the saturated fatty acid, stearic acid (guaranteed reagent grade from Nacalai Tesque, Inc.) was also studied