Tallow from Cattle

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. 

Animal fats are usually recovered by rendering, which involves cooking the fat out of the tissue by heating it to a high temperature. An alternative method involves placing the fatty tissue in boiling water. The fat floats to the surface and is easily recovered. The most common animal fats, lard (from hogs) and tallow (from cattle), can be prepared in either way. 

On the other hand, oleic acid is obtained from either vegetable oil or tallow (from cattle) see Figure 9.18. 

Unlike zinc oxide, which is derived from a very energy-intensive process from zinc ore, stearic acid is usually derived from a less energy-intensive process from either tallow (from cattle) or vegetable oil as shown in Figure 10.3. 

If the feedstock is tallow from cattle slaughtering, the mixed fatty acids are based on mostly saturated fatty acids. On the other hand, if the feedstock is based on vegetable oil, the fatty acid product is produced from the hydrogenation of a mixture of fatty acids that contain unsaturated fatty acids (such as oleic and linoleic acids). These unsaturated fatty acids (CIS unsaturated fatty acids) are converted to the saturated CIS fatty acid (stearic acid) through hydrogenation with a nickel catalyst. 

Stearic acid is derived from either tallow (from cattle slaughtering houses) or vegetable oil (which will require a hydrogenation process step to convert unsaturated fatty acids such as oleic acid into stearic acid). 

In the case of tallow, two broad categories are defined edible and inedible. Edible tallow originates from cattle or sheep that are judged by a competent regulatory authority to be healthy, sound, and fit for consumption at the time of slaughter. Tallow obtained from the inedible offal resulting from slaughter, from animals unfit for consumption, or from outdated meats returned from commercial outlets is classified as inedible. 

Saturated fats tend to have higher melting points than unsaturated fats, which means that at room temperature, ruminant fat tends to be harder than pig fat. Because of the difference, rendered fat from cattle and sheep is called tallow, and the rendered fat from hogs is called lard. 

Values are a combination of values given in a range of publications, including those in which protected oils have been fed to the cattle. The results from experiments that would never be likely to be used in commercial practice are not included. These include protected tallow and coconut oil. 

Lipids are biological materials that are insoluble in water but soluble in nonpolar organic solvents. Here the term will be used interchangeably with acylglycerol, the primary component of animal lipids. These are classihed as either fats or oils. The former are predominantly solid at room temperature (24°C), and the latter are liquid. The depot lipids of animals are generally fats. The major animal fats (also termed meat fats) of contemporary commerce are produced from pigs Sus scrofa), in which case they are termed lard and rendered pork fat, from the fat of cattle Bos taurus) or sheep Ovis aries) and termed tallow, or from poultry (primarily chickens. Callus gallus) and termed poultry fat. Tallow... 

The degree of rumen-mediated fatty acid modification varies from species to species. For example, the biohydrogenation of dietary unsaturates is greater in sheep than in cattle, and thus mutton tallow contains 5% to 10% more stearic acid, and a correspondingly lower amount of oleic acid, than beef tallow. Table 1 illustrates this trend, although it is somewhat obscured by the necessarily wide ranges of values reported. 

Fats are best fed back to the same species. Tallows are best used by cattle. Fish oils should only be used in levels that do not cause off-flavors in eggs, broilers, pork, or bacon. They are not recommended for cats and mink because of potential steatitis problems (67), unless the diet is adequately supplemented with vitamin E. Fish oils are valuable in growing fish, and are more effective in feeds if obtained from species whose metabolism focuses on the same HUFA family (n-6 or n-9) as the species cultivated. 

Palmitic acid is the most widely occurring saturated acid, being present in practically every fat examined. It is present in fish oils (10-30%), in the milk and depot fats of land animals (up to 30%), and in vegetable fats. Useful sources of this acid include cottonseed oil (17-31%, Section 3.3.10), palm oil (32-59%, Section 3.3.24), Chinese vegetable tallow (60-70%, Section 3.3.6), and animal fats from pig, sheep and cattle (25-37%, Section 3.4.2). 

Natural soaps are prepared most commonly from a blend of tallow and coconut oils. In the preparation of tallow, the solid fats of cattle are melted with steam, and the tallow layer that forms on the top is removed. The preparation of soaps begins by boiling these triglycerides with sodium hydroxide. The reaction that takes place is called saponification (Latin saponem, soap) ... 

Analysing scenario III the agrarian chain consists of the slaughtering process and cattle-breeding. Here the cattle-breeding plays an outstanding role in the production of biodiesel from tallow, where the main part of the cattle-breeding footprint can be attributed to fodder-production and emission of ammonia. 

Tallow is triglycerides processed from suet from beef or mutton. Tallow is analogous to lard, which is obtained in a similar manner from pigs. Tallow derived strictly from beef is also called stearin. The tallow is obtained from fatty tissue deposits by applying heat and pressure to the suet (cattle or sheep fat). 

Beef tallow is the main t. used. There are other types, such as mutton t. (- tallow (mutton), which is used only industrially and has similar properties as beef tallow. Neatsfoot oil is a low-melting fat rendered from the feet of cattle it is used as - lubricant and in fat liquors (- leather auxiliaries). There are many grades and types of t., depending on the part of the animal from which it originates, the season of slaughtering, the ffa content, color, odor and many other factors. 

---