Fat splitting processes

Continuous Fat Splitting Process. Currently, continuous fat splitting is the most widely used process in the industry. In the single-stage splitting process, fat and water are fed countercur-rently into a continuous flow column at up to 260°C/60 bar pressure conditions. The glycerin... 

Continuous Process. The continuous countercurrent, high-pressure fat-splitting process, more popularly known as the Colgate-Emery process, is the most efficient of the current methods of fat hydrolysis. The high temperature and pressure used permit short reaction time. Full countercurrent flow of oil and water produces a high degree of splitting without the need of a catalyst. However, a catalyst may be used to increase reaction rate further. 

The fatty acids produced from the various fat-splitting processes are purified and separated into fractions or even individual fatty acids by distillation and fractionation. 

With increasing production, the efficiency and modernisation of the palm oil mills will be critical. An important step towards these objectives is the establishment of an experimental research mill where developmental study can be conducted. This includes application of microprocessor and automation. It is hoped that by the end of the next decade all the problems on quality will be resolved so that greater attention could be devoted to research on biotechnology and the application of such findings to industrial plications for example the enzymatic fat splitting process where considerable energy can be saved. 

In the fat-splitting process, fats and oils are hydrolysed to glycerol and fatty acid. Prior to saponification the fatty acids can be purified by, for example, distillation in a specific fraction. Soaps of fatty acids are subsequently produced by the neutralization with various... 

Originally merely crushed or ground castor seeds were employed for tlzc lermentation fat-splitting process, but it has been found that the use of an estract is far more suitable for the piupose. A peculiarity cf all enzymes is that they are only active within certain fixed limits of temperature. Below the most favourable temperature the action is always slower and more feeble, though by raising the temperature to that iiiost suitable the activity is restored, and consequently has not been destroyed by the cold. When tlic best temperature is exceeded, a slackening of tire action also occurs, while at a certain temperature, most undoubtedly at 70", the enzyme completely loses its activity, and is destroyed. 

Alcohols are also widely produced from fats and oils, and in some cases one of the oldest techniques utilised in the manufacture of soap, fat splitting, is also used as part of the process. Vegetable oils as well as animal fats are all triglycerides and consequently a key step of the various technologies used in the alcohol manufacture involves the separation of glycerine. Oleochemical alcohols are produced using two... 

The manufacture of fatty acid from fat is called fat splitting (B), and the process flow diagram is shown in Fig. 3. Washouts from the storage, transfer, and pretreatment stages are the same as those for process (A). Process condensate and barometric condensate from fat splitting will be contaminated with fatty acids and glycerine streams, which are settled and skimmed to recover... 

In the fatty acid distillation process, wastewater is generated as a result of an acidification process, which breaks the emulsion. This wastewater is neutralized and sent to the sewer. It will contain salt from the neutralization, zinc and alkaline earth metal salts from the fat splitting catalyst, and emulsified fatty acids and fatty acid polymers. 

A process flow diagram for the glycerine recovery process uses the glycerine byproducts from kettle boiling (A) and fat splitting (B). The process consists of three steps (Fig. 5) (a) pretreatment to remove impurities, (b) concentration of glycerine by evaporation, and (c) distillation to a finished product of 98% purity. 

There are many applications where the organic compounds are extracted from natural materials. Extraction is used for preparation of pure flavor essences from expressed oils of various citrus fruit. Pyrethrum is recovered from pyrethrum flowers by solvent extraction. A continuous saponification, glycol extraction, and splitting process for converting fat into finished soap base has been used in soap production. 

In the past, glycerol was produced mainly from propene via allyl chloride and epi-chlorohydrin, a process developed by I. G. Farben and in operation since 1943. Today, glycerol is obtained almost completely as a coproduct in oleochemistry (fat splitting) and biodiesel production (transesterification) with 110 kg crude glycerol or 100 kg pure glycerol per ton of biodiesel [37]. With the rise in biodiesel production, the availability increased while the price decreased drastically by approximately 66% within 15 years in the United States [38]. 

The other method for making soap comprises fat splitting followed by the neutralization process with sodium hydroxide. 

Base catalyzed hydrolysis. Historically, soaps were produced by alkaline hydrolysis of oils and fats, and this process is still referred to as saponification. Soaps are now produced by neutralization of fatty acids produced by fat splitting (see below), but alkaline hydrolysis may still be preferred for heat-sensitive fatty acids. 

Uses of Oieochemicais Based on Palm Oil and Palm Kernel Oil. (a) Fatty Acids. The most common method for the production of fatty acids adopted by the oieochemicais industry is high-temperature and high-pressure fat splitting. The fatty acid mixture produced is separated into broad cuts or pure fatty acids by simple or fractional distillations. Tables 50 and 51 list examples of fatty acids derived from palm products. The exact specifications of the various fatty acids produced vary slightly depending on the exact raw materials and process used. The specifications could also change due to continuous upgrading of processes. 

There are at least four known methods of fat splitting. These are (1) Twitchell process, (2) batch autoclave process, (3) continuous process, and (4) enzymatic process. 

Twitchell Process. The Twitchell Process (9) is one of the earliest processes developed for fat splitting. It is still used in a small way because of its low initial cost and simplicity of installation and operation. However, it is no longer of great commercial importance, due to its high-energy consumption and poor product quality. The process makes use of the Twitchell reagent and sulfuric acid to catalyze the hydrolysis. The reagent is a sulfonated mixmre of oleic or other fatty acid and naphthalene. 

Enzymatic Splitting. Fats and oils can hydrolyze in the presence of natural enzymes. Fat splitting through the use of lipolytic enzymes had been carried out in experimental trials. However, at present, this process is of doubtful importance because of its high cost and long reaction time. 

Sulfuric acid is particularly useful because it forms, with many types of organic substances, intermediate compounds that themselves readily undergo hydrolysis. This is exhibited in the add process of fat splitting to make fatty adds, in making alcohol from ethylene, and probably also in the hydration of acetylene to make aldehyde. In all these, sulfuric add exhibits a specific action, distinct from its hydrogen-ion conc tiation, and cannot be replaced by other acids. 

In addition to the enzymatic fat splitting and esterifications, a multiphase extractive enzyme membrane reactor is being used for the industrial production of a diltiazem chiral intermediate. This process will be described in more detail in Section 5.3.5. 

In the production of soap from fatty acids the distillation process normally associated with fat splitting is usually a sufficient pretreatment for the raw materials (Von Barren and Klimmek, 1977). Methods are available, however, to treat the fatty acids prior to distillation to prevent undesirable by-product formation, e.g. acid washing to remove trace metals. It is good practice to store fatty acids for the manufacture of high-quality soaps for as short a time as possible to prevent deterioration. 

Fat Splitting. Fat splitting is the hydrolysis of a fat or oil with water to produce glycerol and fatty acids. The fatty acids may then be either neutralized with caustic to produce soap or otherwise processed. While the splitting process is concerned only partly with extraction, the equipment and procedures follow typical extraction techniques. The mechanism of the reaction has been fairly well worked out (100, 119). Initially, while water is in contact with unsplit oil, the two are fairly insoluble and reaction... 

The fat-splitting tower is lined with a special alloy, type 316 stainless steel or Inconel, since the hot fatty acids are highly corrosive, and the equipment is expensive in first cost. The high percentage of hydrolysis without catalyst, the purity and light color of the acids, and the high concentration of the sweet water nevertheless make the process attractive, and several installations have been made in the last several years. 

The process has been the subject of a considerable amount of investigation, numerous attempts having been made to actually separate the active fat-splitting constituent of the seeds, or to obtain... 

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