Tallow fatty acid source

Typical weight per cent chain length distributions based on 20 80 tallow coconut fatty acid chain distribution specified for sodium acyl isethionate specified for the Monsavon bar [9], and the purely coconut fatty acid source for SCI. 

Raw and acidulated RBL are combined in dilferent ratios with animal tallow to produce soaps of varying characteristics. Palm oil and coconut oil are the dominant fatty acid sources for soap manufacturing. Coconut oil and tallow are complementary in fatty acid composition such that in combination they provide the ingredients of toilet soap (96). There has been speculation regarding the use of safflower and sunflower RBL in this capacity if alterations were made to processing methods. Cottonseed and soybean RBLs are available in large quantities but the cost of upgrading these to the quality necessary for use in toilet soap inhibits their use. 

The composition of common fats and oils are found in Table 1. The most predominant feedstocks for the manufacture of fatty acids are tallow and grease, coconut oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil, soybean oil, rapeseed oil, and cottonseed oil. Another large source of fatty acids comes from the distillation of cmde tall oil obtained as a by-product from the Kraft pulping process (see Tall oil Carboxylic acids, fatty acids from tall oil). 

Cocoa butter substitutes and equivalents differ greatly with respect to their method of manufacture, source of fats, and functionaHty they are produced by several physical and chemical processes (17,18). Cocoa butter substitutes are produced from lauric acid fats such as coconut, palm, and palm kernel oils by fractionation and hydrogenation from domestic fats such as soy, com, and cotton seed oils by selective hydrogenation or from palm kernel stearines by fractionation. Cocoa butter equivalents can be produced from palm kernel oil and other specialty fats such as shea and ilHpe by fractional crystallization from glycerol and selected fatty acids by direct chemical synthesis or from edible beef tallow by acetone crystallization. 

Primary alcohols are produced either by the catalytic hydrogenation of methyl esters or by fatty acids derived from oils and fats, e.g., coconut oil (C12-C14) or tallow (Cl6-C18), or from synthetic sources. Alcohols manufactured from natural oils and fats and from the Ziegler-type processes produce even-numbered chain length primary alcohols. 

Butyric acid is one of the simplest fatty acids. Fatty acids, which are the building units of fats and oils, are natural compounds of carbon chains with a carboxyl group (-COOH) at one end. Most natural fatty acids have an unbranched carbon chain and contain an even number of carbon atoms because during biosynthesis they are built in two carbon units from acetyl coenzyme A (CoA). Butyric acid is an unsaturated fatty acid, which means all carbon-carbon bonds are single bonds. Common names for fatty acids stem from their natural sources. In addition to butyric acid, some other common saturated fatty acids include lauric acid, palmitic acid, and stearic acid. Lauric acid was first discovered in Lauraceae (Laurus nobilis) seeds, palmitic oil was prepared from palm oil, and stearic acid was discovered in animal fat and gets its name from the Greek word stear for tallow. 

Rendering produced an estimated 4.18 million metric tons of animal fats was produced in the United States in 2000 by rendering.87 Of this amount, approximately 18 percent and 6 percent were edible tallow and lard, respectively, and 41 percent and 35 percent were inedible tallow and grease. Approximately 15 percent and 34 percent of the edible tallow and lard, respectively, and 37 percent of the inedible tallow and grease were exported. Of the inedible tallow and grease used in the United States, an estimated 75 percent was used as animal feed, 16 percent was converted to fatty acids by the oleochemicals industry, 4 percent was used in soaps, and 3 percent in lubricants. Inedible animal fats are the lowest cost domestic fat sources. Their market price per pound sometimes is less than fuel oil, and rendering plants have chosen to bum them as fuels. In 2001, animal fats were included with vegetable oils for federally supported trials of biodiesel fuel. 

Soaps are typically made from lard (from hogs), tallow (from cattle or sheep), coconut oil, or palm oil. All soaps work in the same way, but have somewhat different properties depending on the lipid source. The length of the carbon chain in the fatty acids and the number of degrees of unsaturation affect the properties of the soap to some extent. 

The incorporation of C16-C18 and C12-C14 fatty acids in soaps is important as they provide the cleaning, solubility, and foaming properties required. Tallow and coconut oil have been the traditional sources of these fatty acids. A comparison between the fatty acid composihons of palm oh, pahn stearin, tallow, palm kernel oil, palm kernel oleins, and coconut oil (Table 41) indicates that the first three are rich in C16-C18 fatty acids while pahn kernel and coconut oils are rich in C12-C14 fatty acids. However, for pahn products to establish a niche in the market as raw materials, soap manufacturers have to be convinced that apart from price competitiveness, they will yield soaps with properties and performance comparable if not superior to those from tallow and coconut oil. 

Palm stearin can be the cheapest source of C16-C18 fatty acids for soap. Palm stearin alone has a very high titer value (47-50°C) such that when a high proportion is incorporated into toilet soap formulation, the soap becomes hard and cracks easily. Experiments conducted indicated that 30-50% of palm stearin could be incorporated with tallow and 20% of lauric (palm kernel) fatty acid to obtain titer of the finished product of between 40.5 and 44°C (181). 

As Table 15.1 shows, many carboxylic acids occur in nature. Fatty acids can be isolated from a variety of sources including palm oil, coconut oil, butter, milk, lard, and tallow (beef fat). More complex carboxylic acids are also found in a variety of foodstuffs. For example, citric acid is found in citrus fruits and is often used to give the sharp taste to sour candies. It is also added to foods as a preservative and antioxidant. Adipic acid (hexanedioic acid) gives tartness to soft drinks and helps to retard spoilage. 

Natural source descriptions are used to describe alkyl species that are derived from a particular animal or vegetable source, i.e., coco alcohols, soya fatty acids, and tallow amines. The EPA and CAS currently regard source-derived registrations as the most specific, very narrowly based, description of fatty acid products. Source-based descriptions are interpreted as substances which are solely derived from the named source. A more chemically detailed description is not ordinarily interchangeable with a source-derived description even if the chemically detailed description is totally accurate because sources other than that named could be used. However, a chemically detailed description could be changed to a source-derived description if the substance was derived from the source described. 

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