Tallow processing

Tallow [61789-97-7] is the fat obtained as a by-product of beef, and to a lesser degree sheep processing, and is the most commonly utilized animal fat in the manufacturing of soaps. The high content of longer chain length fatty acids present in tallow fat necessitates the addition of other oils, such as coconut oil, in order to produce a bar with acceptable performance. 

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. 

The raw materials for the manufacture of soap, the alkali salts of saturated and unsaturated C10-C20 carboxylic acids, are natural fats and fatty oils, especially tallow oil and other animal fats (lard), coconut oil, palm kernel oil, peanut oil, and even olive oil. In addition, the tall oil fatty acids, which are obtained in the kraft pulping process, are used for soap production. A typical formulation of fats for the manufacture of soap contains 80-90% tallow oil and 10-20% coconut oil [2]. For the manufacture of soft soaps, the potassium salts of fatty acids are used, as are linseed oil, soybean oil, and cottonseed oil acids. High-quality soap can only be produced by high-quality fats, independent of the soap being produced by saponification of the natural fat with caustic soda solution or by neutralization of distilled fatty acids, obtained by hydrolysis of fats, with soda or caustic soda solutions. Fatty acids produced by paraffin wax oxidation are of inferior quality due to a high content of unwanted byproducts. Therefore in industrially developed countries these fatty acids are not used for the manufacture of soap. This now seems to be true as well for the developing countries. 

After bleaching, the a-sulfonated ester has to be neutralized with sodium hydroxide or some other aqueous base to obtain the salt. Hydrolysis of the ester groups is avoided if the temperature does not exceed 45 °C and the pH is between 7.5 and 9. Neutralization is thus performed in a continuous process to ensure pH control and effective heat removal [33]. The concentration of the NaOH solution has to be calculated so that a slurry is obtained that has a low viscosity so as to facilitate further processing. For example, neutralization can produce a 40% aqueous slurry of sodium palm kernel methyl ester a-sulfonate or a 25% aqueous slurry of sodium tallow methyl ester a-sulfonate [33],... 

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. 

Surfactants can be produced from both petrochemical resources and/or renewable, mostly oleochemical, feedstocks. Crude oil and natural gas make up the first class while palm oil (+kernel oil), tallow and coconut oil are the most relevant representatives of the group of renewable resources. Though the worldwide supplies of crude oil and natural gas are limited—estimated in 1996 at 131 X 1091 and 77 X 109 m3, respectively [28]—it is not expected that this will cause concern in the coming decades or even until the next century. In this respect it should be stressed that surfactant products only represent 1.5% of all petrochemical uses. Regarding the petrochemically derived raw materials, the main starting products comprise ethylene, n-paraffins and benzene obtained from crude oil by industrial processes such as distillation, cracking and adsorption/desorption. The primary products are subsequently converted to a series of intermediates like a-olefins, oxo-alcohols, primary alcohols, ethylene oxide and alkyl benzenes, which are then further modified to yield the desired surfactants. 

Vegetable oil based fuels were used as diesel fuel in some Asian and African countries during World War II. Raw materials appropriate for use in producing oils suitable for combustion in a diesel engine include soybeans, cottonseed, rape seed, peanuts, safflower, canola, sunflower, and com. Processed cooling oil and beef tallow have also been used as raw material sources. 

The lipases in DeniPrime are for the removal of tallow—a waxy white fat composed mainly of triglycerides. For denim finishers, it is often impossible to know what type of size has been used on the denim. If tallow has been used and it is not fully removed at the start of the processing, streaks and crack marks may result from uneven abrasion. As denim garments are too expensive to reject, the streaks and crack marks are often filled in by hand with dye. All denim finishers are aware of these quality problems and therefore DeniPrime can be seen as a form of insurance. By using DeniPrime, finishers can be sure... 

Along with the reduced consunq>tion of meat products, the production of rendered animal fats has also declined. Beef tallow consumption has increased greatly since 1950 due to its distinctive flavor and stability as a frying medium. In 1985, 460,000 metric tons of beef tallow were used in the U.S. for baking and frying, but this figure was reduced to 289,000 metric tons in 1990 and is probably less this year. The decreased production of beef tallow has made it unprofitable for renderers to continue Ae processing procedures required to produce edible tallow (i). 

Processed meat products with a minimum of fat and cholesterol appear to be in high demand. As for edible beef tallow, reduced usage has increased... 

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