Process for the production of fatty alcohols based on vegetable fats and oils by fractionation

Abstract

Fatty alcohols of the formula I R.sup.1 OH (I) wherein R.sup.1 is a saturated or unsaturated, linear or branched aliphatic radical having from about 8 to about 22 carbon atoms are made by an improvement in the process which comprises hydrogenating a fatty acid, a fatty acid methyl ester or a combination thereof to form a fatty alcohol. The improvement comprises removing a head fraction from the fatty acid, the fatty acid methyl ester or the fatty alcohol in such a quantity that the fatty alcohol has an iodine value of from about 20 to about 110 and less than about 4.5% by weight of conjugated compounds.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.