892results about "Fatty-oils/fats separation" patented technology

Methods and compositions are disclosed for the direct transesterification and extraction of bio-lipids and bio-oils in the production of biofuel, particularly fatty acid methyl ester products.

Integrated processes of preparing industrial chemicals starting from seed oil feedstock compositions containing one or more unsaturated fatty acids or unsaturated fatty acid esters, which are essentially free of metathesis catalyst poisons, particularly hydroperoxides; metathesis of the feedstock composition with a lower olefin, such as ethylene, to form a reduced chain olefin, preferably, a reduced chain α-olefin, and a reduced chain unsaturated acid or ester, preferably, a reduced chain α,Ω-unsaturated acid or ester. The reduced chain unsaturated acid or ester may be (trans)esterified to form a polyester polyolefin, which may be epoxidized to form a polyester polyepoxide. The reduced chain unsaturated acid or ester may be hydroformylated with reduction to produce an α,Ω-hydroxy acid or α,Ω-hydroxy ester, which may be (trans)esterified with a polyol to form an α,Ωpolyester polyol. Alternatively, the reduced chain unsaturated acid or ester may be hydroformylated with reductive amination to produce an α,Ω-amino acid or α,Ω-amino ester, which may be (trans)esterified to form an α,Ωpolyester polyamine.

Pure DHA and pure EPA can be obtained from a mixture of EPA and DHA in a solution by forming salts of DHA and EPA which have different solubilities in the solvent, cooling the solution until the salt of EPA is formed, filtering the solution to recover the salt of EPA, and acidifying the EPA salt and the DHA salt to obtain pure EPA and pure DHA.

A process for producing alkyl esters useful in biofuels and lubricants by transesterifying glyceride- or esterifying free fatty acid-containing substances in a single critical phase medium is disclosed. The critical phase medium provides increased reaction rates, decreases the loss of catalyst or catalyst activity and improves the overall yield of desired product. The process involves the steps of dissolving an input glyceride- or free fatty acid-containing substance with an alcohol or water into a critical fluid medium; reacting the glyceride- or free fatty acid-containing substance with the alcohol or water input over either a solid or liquid acidic or basic catalyst and sequentially separating the products from each other and from the critical fluid medium, which critical fluid medium can then be recycled back in the process. The process significantly reduces the cost of producing additives or alternatives to automotive fuels and lubricants utilizing inexpensive glyceride- or free fatty acid-containing substances, such as animal fats, vegetable oils, rendered fats, and restaurant grease.

The invention features a method of determining whether one or more members of an analyte family are present in a sample. The method makes use of a test zone binder, e.g., a receptor that can bind one or a plurality of analytes within an analyte family, the analytes family defined by similar structural binding sites. Members of an analyte family can have different detection level requirements and, therefore, additional analyte binders can be employed to adjust test sensitivity for a subset of the analytes in the analyte family individually, so that each analyte can be detected only if it is present in the sample above a predetermined threshold.

Alkyl esters of fatty acids, and high purity glycerin, are produced using a process comprising a set of transesterification reactions between a vegetable or animal oil and an aliphatic monoalcohol employing a heterogeneous catalyst, for example based on zinc aluminate, the water content in the reaction medium being controlled to a value that is below a given limiting value.

A method and system to produce biodiesel from a combination of corn (maize) and other agro feedstock may be simarouba, mahua, rice, pongamia etc. Germ is separated (either by wet process or dry process) from corn, crude corn oil extracted from germ and corn starch milk/slurry is heated and cooked in jet cooker to about 105 degree Celsius, enzymes added to convert starch into fermentable sugars in liquification and saccharification process and rapidly cooled down to about 30 degree Celsius. Simarouba fruits syrup, mahua syrup is mixed with corn starch milk (after saccharification). When yeast is added the fermentation takes place for about 72 hours. Thereafter the fermented wash is distilled to produce ethanol. Water consumed in dry process is very less compared to traditional wet process system. Corn oil and mixture of other oils is fed into transesterification (reaction) vessels where ethanol with catalyst, usually sodium hydroxide is added and reaction takes place for about a period of 2-8 hours. Crude biodiesel and crude glycerin as by-products is produced. Excess ethanol removed by distillation process. Crude biodiesel washed with warm water to remove residual soaps or unused catalyst, dried and biodiesel stored for commercial use. Oil extracted from spent bleach mud (used sodium bentonite), a waste product of edible oil refineries may also be utilized for economical production of biodiesel in combination of corn oil and ethanol.

Simultaneous synthesis and purification of a fatty acid monoester biodiesel fuel from a triacylglycerol feedstock is described. In an exemplary method, the triacylglycerol feedstock is continuously contacted with a catalytic chromatographic bed comprising a first (solid phase) basic catalyst through a first port of a simulated moving bed chromatographic apparatus. A monohydric alcohol and optional second (mobile phase) basic catalyst is continuously contacted with the catalytic chromatographic bed through a second port and pumped in a first direction toward the triacylglycerol feedstock to contact the triacylglycerol in a reaction zone of the catalytic chromatographic bed where the fatty acid monoester and glycerol coproduct are formed. The fatty acid monoester is removed from the reaction zone through a product port of the simulated moving bed apparatus. Segments of the catalytic chromatographic bed are incrementally moved in a second direction, opposite the first direction, and the glycerol is removed from a raffinate port located opposite the product port of the apparatus.

Methods for selective extraction and fractionation of algal lipids and algal products are disclosed. A method of selective removal of products from an algal biomass provides for single and multistep extraction processes which enable efficient separation of algal components. Among these components are neutral lipids synthesized by algae, which are extracted by the methods disclosed herein for the production of renewable fuels.

A method for producing biofuels along with valuable food and neutraceutical products is provided. A method of making biofuels includes dewatering substantially intact algal cells to make an algal biomass, extracting neutral lipids along with carotenoids and chlorophylls from the algal biomass, and separation of the carotenoids and chlorophylls using adsorption or membrane diafiltration or other methods. The remaining neutral lipids are esterified with a catalyst in the presence of an alcohol. The method also includes separating a water soluble fraction comprising glycerin from a water insoluble fraction comprising fuel esters and distilling the fuel esters under vacuum to obtain a C16 or shorter fuel esters fraction, a C16 or longer fuel ester fraction, and a residue comprising omega-3 fatty acids esters and remaining carotenoids. The method further includes hydrogenating and deoxygenating at least one of (i) the C16 or shorter fuel esters to obtain a jet fuel blend stock and (ii) the C16 or longer fuel esters to obtain a diesel blend stock.

The present invention relates to an improved process for the preparation of biodiesel from triglyceride oils through transesterification, particularly the fatty acid methyl ester of oil mechanically expelled from whole seeds of Jatropha curcas, a plant with potential for cultivation on wastelands in India and other countries, all unit operations being carried out at ambient temperature.

The invention refers to a process for fractionating a vegetable oil giving one or more solid fractions suitable for confectionary applications as well as a liquid fraction rich in unsaponifiable biologically active components. The liquid fractions of shea butter and rapeseed oil having a high content of phytosterols and tocoferols, respectively, are useful for cosmetical and pharmaceutical preparations.

Separation of an anionic fluorochemical surfactant from an aqueous solution containing the anionic fluorochemical surfactant is carried out by i) contacting the aqueous solution with a basic anion-exchange resin so that the anionic fluorochemical surfactant is adsorbed on the resin, and ii) eluting the anionic fluorochemical surfactant adsorbed on the resin with an eluent which is an alkaline solution containing water and an organic solvent.

A novel process for the selective elimination of fatty acid compounds containing carbon-carbon double bonds in trans configuration from a substrate containing cis- and trans-isomers of said fatty acid compounds, by selective adsorption by a microporous zeolite material is disclosed. The pore size and shape of usable zeolite materials enable differentiation between cis- and trans-isomers of unsaturated fatty acid chains. The zeolite materials used have a selectivity ratio alphatrans/cis higher than 1.00; this ratio is defined based on the elution properties of cis and trans double bond containing fatty acid methylesters dissolved in n-hexane during a column chromatography experiment with the zeolite material as the stationary phase and n-hexane as the mobile phase. Besides selective adsorption of trans-unsaturated fatty acid compounds, simultaneous or subsequent total or partial hydrogenation of the double bonds in said compounds can be carried out while using the same or similar zeolite material, containing finely dispersed catalytic active metals. The majority of these catalytic active sites must be inside the pores.

A method for degumming an oil composition comprises the steps of (a) providing an oil composition containing a quantity of phospholipids, (b) contacting said oil composition simultaneously with one or more phospholipase A enzymes and one or more phospholipase C enzymes, under conditions sufficient for the enzymes to react with the phospholipids to create phospholipid reaction products, and (c) separating the phospholipids reaction products from the oil composition, the remaining oil composition after the separation being a degummed oil composition, whereby during step (b) the reaction of said one or more phospholipase A enzymes proceeds at a faster rate than it would in the absence of said one or more phospholipase C enzymes.

An apparatus and method for producing fatty acid alkyl esters from fatty acids derived from vegetable oils and animal fats with an alkaline solution dissolved in stoichiometric or near stoichiometric levels of a monoalkyl alcohol to form a mixture. The method further comprises emulsifying the mixture as a means to reach a completed chemical reaction state in a reactor section, wherein the oils or fats are transesterified into fatty acid alkyl esters. The transesterification occurs when the natural boundary surfaces of the immiscible mixture are enlarged by ultrasonic cavitation in the reaction section and the transesterification is performed at, or near atmospheric pressure. The method finally includes, after reaching the chemical reaction state, separating residues from the fatty acid alkyl ester in a gravitational phase separation section.

A method separating tocotrienols from tocopherols and the isomers thereof on a large-scale or commercially feasible basis. Separation is accomplished using reverse phase partition liquid chromatography. The chromatography column is prepared using a stationary phase comprising a hydrophobic or aromatic reverse phase chromatography media. The mobile phase consists of a solvent which is capable of solubilizing the crude stock, tocotrienols and tocopherols. The chromatography column containing the stationary and mobile phases is loaded with a crude feed stock and the tocotrienols, tocopherols and/or isomers thereof are eluted at a predetermined linear velocity.

The present invention provides methods of processing a biomass, e.g., for producing lipid and non-lipid materials, by inducing autolysis of a biomass. The biomass may be generated using any species of microorganism and any available biodegradable substrate, including waste materials. The lipid and non-lipid materials are present in two separate layers of the autolysate, and they can be used to generate valuable products such as biofuels and nutritional supplements. The present invention further provides a processing apparatus useful for practicing the methods of the present invention.

An integrated process is described for producing biodiesel from oleaginous seeds, preferably castor bean seeds, comprising a transesterification reaction where the seeds themselves react with anhydrous ethyl alcohol in the presence of an alkaline catalyst. The resulting ethyl esters are then separated by decantation and neutralized and used as fuel for diesel engines, co-solvents for diesel and gasoline mixtures with anhydrous or hydrated ethyl alcohol. The solid fractions may be used as fertilizers, for feeding cattle and as a raw material for producing ethyl alcohol.

The present invention is directed to a process to remove impurities from triacylglycerol oil including mixing the oil and a fluidic agent, pumping the mixture through a flow-through hydrodynamic cavitation apparatus at a pre-determined inlet pump pressure, creating hydrodynamic cavitation in the mixture, maintaining the hydrodynamic cavitation for a pre-determined period of time, moving the impurities from the oil to the fluidic agent, and then separating the fluidic agent from the oil. The impurities can include phytosterols, sterol glucosides, acylated sterol glucosides, in which case the fluidic agent is water, an alkali hydroxide, an inorganic base, an organic base, phosphoric acid, citric acid, acetic acid or a mixture thereof. The impurities may also include phosphatides, in which case and the fluidic agent comprises water and an enzyme such as phospholipase, a lipid acyltransferase or a mixture thereof.