Method of purifying fatty acid ester products
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture
InventorsReuben O. Feuge, Hampden J. Zeringue, Jr.
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Abstract
The alkali metal salts of fatty acids (soaps) remaining in fatty acid ester products after interesterification and other processing steps are decomposed by dissolving the fatty acid ester product in a suitable solvent, adding water, saturating the mixture with carbon dioxide, removing the water phase containing excess carbon dioxide and bicarbonate of the alkali metal, converting the bicarbonate into carbonate, and using the carbonate in refining, interesterification and other reactions in the processing of fatty acid esters.
Claims5
A process for purifying fatty acid ester products containing the salt of an alkali metal comprising:
- (a) dissolving in a water-immiscible organic solvent at about 20.degree.-50.degree. C. a quantity of a fatty acid ester product which contains an alkali metal salt of a fatty acid;
- (b) mixing the dissolved product solution with a quantity of water sufficient to form a second or aqueous phase;
- (c) while the organic and aqueous phases are in contact with each other, mixing and saturating the two phases with carbon dioxide;
- (d) separating the aqueous phase from the organic phase;
- then,
- (e) removing the solvent from the organic phase, thus obtaining a purified fatty acid ester product.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.