is, s West and Balce: Composition of Pili-nut Oil 275 



• The iodine values of the two fractions of methyl esters ob- 

 tained in the second distillation (Table 4) show that these 

 esters were contaminated with methyl oleate, since olein was 

 found to be the only unsaturated glyceride in the oil. The per- 

 centage of unsaturated esters (methyl oleate) in each fraction 

 of the impure esters was calculated from the iodine value. The 

 saponification values and mean molecular weights of the esters 

 of the saturated acids, uncontaminated with unsaturated esters, 

 were then calculated, after which the composition of each frac- 

 tion of the impure methyl esters was determined. The results 

 are recorded in Table 5. 



Table 5.— Composition of methyl esters. 



M- 



~- 



ond distillation). 





T~e~ 



1 



11 





In 



"H 







T t 1 



100.00 



,00.00 



Aci 









*.«**-«- 





Fractions. 



Total. 



I 



II 













"Hz 



°1 



stmt*........ 



The saponification value of the saturated esters in the first 

 fraction (Table 5) was 207.8, and the mean molecular weight, 

 270. Since the molecular weight of methyl palmitate is 270.3, 

 the pure saturated esters in the first fraction consisted entirely 

 of methyl palmitate. The saponification value of the saturated 

 esters in the second fraction was 205.5, and the mean molecular 

 weight 273.1. Since the mean molecular weight is between 

 the molecular weights of methyl palmitate (270.3) and methyl 

 stearate (298.4), the saturated esters consist of a mixture of 

 these two esters. Knowing the weights of the esters in each 

 fraction (Table 4) and the composition of each fraction, the 

 quantity of acids equivalent to the methyl esters was obtained 

 (Table 5), after which the total percentage of saturated gly- 

 cerides present in the original oil was calculated (Table 6). 

 In making these various calculations the method adopted by 

 Baughman and Jamieson in their investigation of Hubbard 



