Fatty acid catalysts

Continuous slurry reactors are generally either of one of two designs. One type uses a reactor loop, generally known as a Buss loop design the other is a co-current hydrogen/fatty acid/catalyst system mainly marketed by Lurgi. Continuous slurry reactors are more popular in Europe, Asia, and South America than in the United States. 

Bromination of fatty acids in the a-position can be effected quite readily in the presence of phosphorus trichloride, red phosphorus or pyridine as catalysts or halogen carriers with acetic acid, the addition of acetic anhydride (to ensure the absence of water) improves the yield and facilitates the bromination. Examples are —... 

The decarbonylation-dehydration of the fatty acid 887 catalyzed by PdCl2(Ph3P)2 fO.Ol mol%) was carried out by heating its mixture with acetic-anhydride at 250 C to afford the terminal alkene 888 with high selectivity and high catalyst turnover number (12 370). The reaction may proceed by the oxidative addition of Pd to the mixed anhydride[755]. 

A few fatty acids with trans double bonds (trans fatty acids) occur naturally but the major source of trans fats comes from partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils m for example the preparation of margarine However the same catalysts that catalyze the... 

The intermediate m hydrogenation formed by reaction of the unsaturated ester with the hydrogenated surface of the metal catalyst not only can proceed to the saturated fatty acid ester but also can dissociate to the original ester having a cis double bond or to its trans stereoisomer Unlike polyunsaturated vegetable oils which tend to reduce serum cholesterol levels the trans fats produced by partial hydrogenation have cholesterol raising effects similar to those of saturated fats... 

Hydrogenolysis Process. Patty alcohols are produced by hydrogenolysis of methyl esters or fatty acids ia the presence of a heterogeneous catalyst at 20,700—31,000 kPa (3000—4500 psi) and 250—300°C ia conversions of 90—98%. A higher conversion can be achieved using more rigorous reaction conditions, but it is accompanied by a significant amount of hydrocarbon production. 

In the early 1920s Badische Arulin- und Soda-Fabrik aimounced the specific catalytic conversion of carbon monoxide and hydrogen at 20—30 MPa (200—300 atm) and 300—400°C to methanol (12,13), a process subsequendy widely industrialized. At the same time Fischer and Tropsch aimounced the Synth in e process (14,15), in which an iron catalyst effects the reaction of carbon monoxide and hydrogen to produce a mixture of alcohols, aldehydes (qv), ketones (qv), and fatty acids at atmospheric pressure. 

The typical SEA process uses a manganese catalyst with a potassium promoter (for solubilization) in a batch reactor. A manganese catalyst increases the relative rate of attack on carbonyl intermediates. Low conversions are followed by recovery and recycle of complex intermediate streams. Acid recovery and purification involve extraction with caustic and heat treatment to further decrease small amounts of impurities (particularly carbonyls). The fatty acids are recovered by freeing with sulfuric acid and, hence, sodium sulfate is a by-product. 

In the other market areas, lead naphthenates are used on a limited basis in extreme pressure additives for lubricating oils and greases. Sodium and potassium naphthenates are used in emulsiftable oils, where they have the advantage over fatty acid soaps of having improved disinfectant properties. Catalyst uses include cobalt naphthenate as a cross-linking catalyst in adhesives (52) and manganese naphthenate as an oxidation catalyst (35). Metal naphthenates are also being used in the hydroconversion of heavy petroleum fractions (53,54) and bitumens (55). 

A continuous process has been described (14) which can produce either the amide or the nitrile by adjusting the reaction conditions. Boric acid has been used as a catalyst in the amidation of fatty acid (15). Other catalysts employed include alumina (16), titanium, and 2inc alkoxides (17). The difficulty of complete reaction during synthesis has been explained by the formation of RCOOH NH RCOO , a stable intermediate acid ammonium salt (18). 

Bisamides. Methylenebisamides are prepared by the reaction of the primary fatty amide and formaldehyde in the presence of an acid catalyst. AijAT-Methylenebisoleamide has been made via this route without the use of refluxing solvent (55). Polymethylenebisamides can be made from fatty acid, esters, or acid haUdes with diamines while producing water, alcohol, or mineral acid by-products. Eatty acids and diamines, typically ethylenediamine, have been condensed in the presence of NaBH and NaH2P02 to yield bisamides (56). When stearic acid, ethylenediamine, and methyl acetate react for 6 h at... 

Linear alpha-olefins are the source of the largest volume of ahphatic amine oxides. The olefin reacts with hydrogen bromide in the presence of peroxide catalyst, to yield primary alkyl bromide, which then reacts with dimethylamine to yield the corresponding alkyl dimethyl amine. Fatty alcohols and fatty acids are also used to produce amine oxides (Fig. 1). 

Eatty alcohols, prepared from fatty acids or via petrochemical processes, aldol or hydroformylation reactions, or the Ziegler process, react with ammonia or a primary or secondary amine in the presence of a catalyst to form amines (10—12). 

Nitrile Process. Fatty nitriles are readily prepared via batch, Hquid-phase, or continuous gas-phase processes from fatty acids and ammonia. Nitrile formation is carried out at an elevated temperature (usually >250° C) with catalyst. An ammonia soap which initially forms, readily dehydrates at temperatures above 150°C to form an amide. In the presence of catalyst, zinc (ZnO) for batch and bauxite for continuous processes, and temperatures >250° C, dehydration of the amide occurs to produce nitrile. Removal of water drives the reaction to completion. 

Nitrile Intermediates. Most quaternary ammonium compounds are produced from fatty nitriles (qv), which are ia turn made from a natural fat or oil-derived fatty acid and ammonia (qv) (Fig. 2) (see Fats AND FATTY oils) (225). The nitriles are then reduced to the amines. A variety of reduciag agents maybe used (226). Catalytic hydrogenation over a metal catalyst is the method most often used on a commercial scale (227). Formation of secondary and tertiary amine side-products can be hindered by the addition of acetic anhydride (228) or excess ammonia (229). In some cases secondary amines are the desired products. 

Quaternized esteramines are usually derived from fat or fatty acid that reacts with an alcoholamine to give an intermediate esteramine. The esteramines are then quaternized. A typical reaction scheme for the preparation of a diester quaternary is shown in equation 9 (210), where R is a fatty alkyl group. Reaction occurs at 75—115°C in the presence of sodium methoxide catalyst. Free fatty acids (230) and glycerides (231) can be used in place of the fatty acid methylester. 

The fatty acids that emerge from the top of the column contain entrained water, partially hydroly2ed fat, and the Zn—soap catalyst. This product stream is passed into a vacuum dryer stage where the water is removed through vapori2ation and the fatty acid cooled as a result of this vapori2ation process. The dried product stream is then passed to a distillation system. 

Two important widely used sulfonic acids are known as TwitcheU s reagents, or as in Russia, the Petrov catalysts. These reagents are based on benzene or naphthalene ( ) and (12), [3055-92-3] and [82415-39-2] respectively. The materials are typically made by the coupling of an unsaturated fatty acid with benzene or naphthalene in the presence of concentrated sulfuric acid (128). These sulfonic acids have been used extensively in the hydrolysis of fats and oils, such as beef tallow (129), coconut oil (130,131), fatty methyl esters (132), and various other fats and oils (133—135). TwitcheU reagents have also found use as acidic esterification catalysts (136) and dispersing agents (137). 

Typical commercial ethoxylated sorbitan fatty acid esters are yellow Hquids, except tristearates and the 4- and 5-mol ethylene oxide adducts which are light tan soHds. These adducts, as well as the 20-mol adducts of the triesters, are insoluble but dispersible in water. The monoester 20-mol adducts are water soluble. Ethoxylated sorbitan esters are widely used as emulsifiers, antistatic agents, softeners, fiber lubricants, and solubilizers. In combination with the unethoxylated sorbitan esters or with mono- or diglycetides, these are often used as co-emulsrfiers. The ethoxylated sorbitan esters are produced by beating sorbitan esters with ethylene oxide at 130—170°C in the presence of alkaline catalysts. 

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