Boron trifluoride as catalyst to prepare methyl esters from oils containing unusual acyl groups

The procedure of Metcalfe et al. (3) for the preparation of fatty acid methyl esters, using boron trifluoride as catalyst, is shown to be suitable for use with oils containing fatty acids of unusual structures, such as conjugated unsaturation, hydroxyl or epoxy groups, and cyclopropenes in addition to oils with only the common acids. In some cases, boron trifluoride was less destructive to unusual groups than conventional mineral acid catalysts; in others, derivatives were formed that were suitable for quantitation in subsequent gas chromatographic analysis.