Nitrogen derivatives of natural fats and oils

Tallow affords derivatives with a predominantly C16-C18 chain length for the shorter C10-C14 chain length derivatives coconut oil is the preferred material. As other oils have become available in quantity and competitive in pricing they too have been adopted by surfactant manufacturers. Today, tallow and coconut are joined by palm, rapeseed and soya bean oils as fatty acid feedstocks for nitrogen surfactants using the nitrile process [1, 2]. New oils on the horizon such as meadowfoam, crambe and lesquerella have yet to make any significant impact, while other oils remain unexplored [3]. 

Surfactants jmm Renewable Resources Edited by Mikael Kjellin and Ingegard Johansson 2010 John Wiley Sons, Ltd 

Nitrogen derivatives of fatty acids in the context of this article refer for the most part to surfactants derived via conversion of the acid to an amine, or via condensation of the fatty acid with an amine such as an alkanolamine. The manufacture of such derivatives has been reviewed in detail by the author and co-workers [4] and will be discussed in less detail here. 

There are two common methods for the manufacture of fatty amines from fatty acid via the nitrile route or from fatty alcohols. For the production of primary and secondary amines the nitrile route is favoured while for tertiary amines both nitrile and alcohol routes may be used. As already mentioned the manufacture of fatty amine has been previously reviewed in detail by the author [4]. 

The conversion of fatty acid to fatty nitrile involves reaction of the acid with ammonia at high temperatures over a metal oxide catalyst. Suitable metal oxides include alumina and 

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Fatty amines are nitrogen derivatives of fatty acids, olefins, or alcohols prepared from natural sources, fats and oils, or petrochemical raw materials. Commercially available fatty amines consist of either a mixture of carbon chains or a specific chain length from C The amines are classified as... 

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