Claims
- 1. A method for producing fatty acid alkyl esters, comprising transesterifying a feedstock containing lipid-linked fatty acids with an alcohol and an alkaline catalyst to form fatty acid alkyl esters, wherein said feedstock is selected from the group consisting of soy, coconut, corn, cotton, flax, palm, rapeseed/canola, safflower, sunflower, animal fats and oil, and mixtures thereof, and wherein said feedstock has not been treated to release the lipid components of said feedstock.
- 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said feedstock is soy.
- 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said feedstock is coconut or palm.
- 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said feedstock is rapeseed/canola.
- 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said fatty acid alkyl esters are fatty acid methyl esters or fatty acid ethyl esters.
- 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said alcohol is a C1-4 alcohol.
- 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said alcohol is selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, and mixtures thereof.
- 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein said alcohol is selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, and mixtures thereof.
- 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein said alcohol is ethanol.
- 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein said alcohol is methanol.
- 11. The method according to claim 1, wherein said alkali is selected from the group consisting of NaOH, KOH, or mixtures thereof.
- 12. The method according to claim 1, wherein said alkali is NaOH.
- 13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the molar ratio of said alcohol: said alkaline catalyst is about ≦500:1.
- 14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the concentration of said alkaline catalyst is about ≧0.05N.
- 15. The method according to claim 1, wherein said method utilizes about 0.04-about 25 ml of said alcohol per gram of said feedstock.
- 16. The method according to claim 1, wherein said method utilizes a molar ratio of said alcohol: said feedstock glyceride content of 3.38-2178:1.
- 17. The method according to claim 1, wherein said method utilizes about 3-about 10 ml of said alcohol per gram of said feedstock.
- 18. The method according to claim 1, wherein said method utilizes about 0.02-about 0.18 molar of alkali in said alcohol.
- 19. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reaction time of said method is about 2-about 12 hours.
- 20. The method according to claim 1, wherein said method is conducted at a reaction temperature of about 20°-about 70° C.
- 21. The method according to claim 1, wherein said fatty acid alkyl esters contain less than about 1000 mg free fatty acids/g fatty acid alkyl esters.
- 22. The method according to claim 1, wherein said fatty acid alkyl esters contain less than about 5% weight basis of unreacted triacylglycerols, unreacted diacylglycerides, and unreacted monoacylglycerides.
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/369,370, filed Apr. 2, 2002, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60369370 |
Apr 2002 |
US |