Kajian Awal Sintesis Senyawa Bio-hidrokarbon Dari Sorbitol Dengan Menggunakan Asam Format Sebagai Reduktor

Abstract

Sorbitol (C₆H₁₄O₆) is a sugar alcohol which can be synthesized from cellulose, have similar structure with hexane (C₆H₁₄). By eliminate the oxygen content in sorbitol, bio-hexane and heavier hydrocarbons can be obtained. The objective of this research is to observe the effect of temperature and reaction time to the yield of bio-hydrocarbons and to study the regeneration of iodine (I₂) to hydro-iodic acid (HI) process using formic acid (HCOOH) as a reducing agent. The bio-hydrocarbon synthesis process from sorbitol consisted of two main processes, namely synthesis of 2-iodohexane and de-iodization of 2-iodohexane. The synthesis of 2-iodohexane process was conducted with reflux system, at varied temperature (90^oC and 120^oC) for 2 and 6 hours with HI: Sorbitol mole ratio 2:1. Formic acid as reducing agent was gradually added during the 2-iodohexane synthesis process to regenerate the iodine to hydro-iodic acid. De-iodization of 2-iodohexane process was conducted with gas phases pyrolysis at varied temperature (260^oC and 270^oC) for 30 and 45 minutes. The product of 2-iodohexane synthesis process was analyzed using HPLC while the product of de-iodization of 2-iodohexane process was analyzed qualitatively by FTIR and quantitatively by gravimetric analysis method.