Biochemicals synthesis from dead leaves of Acacia auriculiformis over zinc chloride and sodium hydroxide

Abstract

This study was undertaken to investigate the biochemicals and biofuel feedstocks in the waste leaves of Acacia auriculiformis. A 50g mass of pulverized dead leaves of the tree were hydrolytically extracted using ZnCl2 and NaOH catalysts at 100oC for 30 minutes. The extracts were filtered with sheet cloth and 4g of each sample was analyzed with GC-MS. The highest fatty acid yield was 235.74 g over ZnCl2 and 222.82 g over NaOH. The highest yields of other prominent chemicals found were 28.17g furan methanol over ZnCl2, 14.18g spathulenol over NaOH, 55.55g Phytol over ZnCl2, 15.94g caryophyllene over NaOH, 15.2g hydroxylamine octyl over ZnCl2, 12.33g stigmasterol over NaOH and 16.85g Methyl a-D-galactopyranoside over NaOH. The biochemicals extracted from the leaves of Acacia auriculiformis are important chemical feedstocks for the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, agro-allied, and food industries. Keywords: biochemicals, dead leaves, feedstock, synthesis, Acacia auriculiformis