Determination of potassium in fatty acid methyl esters applying an ion-selective potassium electrode

An easy and inexpensive method of potassium determination in fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) applying an ion-selective potassium electrode (ISE-K) is presented. FAME are considered alternative fuel for diesel engines. Simple apparatus and procedure were developed to avoid contact of ester samples with the sensitive ISE-K membrane, which can damage the ISE membrane surface in long time operation. Using different FAME samples with a wide range of known potassium content a calibration curve was constructed. Among all samples, ISE-K satisfactory predicted potassium content in FAME as identified by the AAS reference method.