Glycerol and triglycerides

M. Masoom and P. J. Worsfold, Automated Flow-Injection Procedures for Glycerol and Triglycerides. Anal. Chim. Acta, 188 (1986) 281. 

Figure VII.1 Glycerol and triglyceride. Triglyceride is the main component of body (and dietary) fat. In triglyceride (b) each of the —OH positions of glycerol (a) is occupied by a fatty acid attached by an ester linkage.

Spinella, C. j., and M. Mager Modified enzymatic procedure for the routine determination of glycerol and triglycerides in plasma. J. Lipid Res. 7, 167 (1966). 

Fats and oils are one of the oldest classes of chemical compounds used by humans. Animal fats were prized for edibiUty, candles, lamp oils, and conversion to soap. Fats and oils are composed primarily of triglycerides (1), esters of glycerol and fatty acids. However, some oils such as sperm whale (1), jojoba (2), and orange roughy (3) are largely composed of wax esters (2). Waxes (qv) are esters of fatty acids with long-chain aUphatic alcohols, sterols, tocopherols, or similar materials. 

Esters. The mono- and diesters of glycerol and fatty acids occur naturally ia fats that have become partially hydrolyzed. The triglycerides are primary components of aaturaHy occurring fats and fatty oils. 

Ideally, two moles of polyol react with one mole of triglyceride to form three moles of monoester. In reaUty, the reaction reaches an equiUbrium, whereby some amount of di- and tri-esters and neat polyol, including glycerol and the added polyol, coexist in the reaction mixture. The compositions of the alcoholysis products at equiUbrium from soya oil and glycerol (1 2 mole ratio), and soya oil and monopentaerythritol have been reported (33) as follows ... 

Figure 4.22 (a) Stearic and oleic acid (b) glycerol and a triglyceride (c) the general structure of a glycerophospholipid and (d) the glycerophospholipid l-stearoyl-2-oleoyl-3-phosphatidylcholine. 

An alkaline catalyst, sodium methoxide, is created in the same reactor as the ester interchange by first adding sodium metal to the methanol before the triglyceride is introduced. The reaction is performed batch by batch in a carbon-steel vessel at atmospheric pressure. The reaction, shown in the top part of Figure 15—2, results in glycerol and three fatty methyl esters. 

Fats and oils are hydrophobic, water-insoluble substances. The operational difference between them is simple fats are solid at room temperature oils are liquid at room temperature. Chemically, fats and oils are triglycerides, triesters formed from glycerol and three fatty acids. Let me remind you that an ester is a functional group derived by linking a carboxylic acid to an alcohol, with the elimination of a molecule of water ... 

Fats and oils are triglycerides esters of glycerol and fatty acids. 

The standard analytical methods for biodiesel methyl ester are time-consuming and often require multiple physical analyzes per sample. NIRS allows for the simple set up of calibrations for multiple important biodiesel qualities such as mono-, di- and triglycerides, residual methanol, glycerol and moisture as well as... 

To produce biodiesel grade methyl esters, the oil must be trans-esterified with methyl alcohol. This process cleaves the triglyceride to yield glycerol and the individual methyl ester compounds. Most biodiesel trans-esterification is base catalyzed and has the operational advantage of low temperature, low pressure, and high conversion rates. 

In saponification, triglycerides are heated in a basic solution to give glycerol and soap. R represents long carbon chains. 

Exothermic a chemical reaction that liberates energy to the surroundings Fats biomolecules consisting of glycerols and fatty acids (triglycerides) that are solid at room temperature... 

Glyceride. An ester of glycerol and fatty acids in which one or more of the hydroxyl groups of the glycerol have been replaced by acid radicals. Glycerides occur in nature and can be made synthetically. The most common ones are based oa fa try acids and occur in oild and fats. Mono and triglycerides are of commercial importance... 

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