In an aspect, a method is disclosed that includes contacting a composition with an
aqueous solution to yield a mixture, where the composition includes one or more of animal fats, animal oils,
plant fats,
plant oils, vegetable fats, vegetable oils, greases, and used
cooking oil, about 5 wt.% or more of free fatty acids, about 10 wppm or more of total metals, about 8 wppm or more
phosphorus, about 20 wppm or more of
nitrogen, and the
aqueous solution includes ((NH4)2H2EDTA, (NH4)4EDTA, a monoammonium salt of
diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, a diammonium salt of
diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, a triammonium salt of
diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, a tetraammonium salt of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, (NH4)5DTPA, a combination of
citric acid and Na4EDTA, a combination of
citric acid and Na2H2EDTA, a combination of
citric acid and a monosodium salt of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, a combination of citric acid and a disodium salt of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, a combination of citric acid and a trisodium salt of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, a combination of citric acid and a tetrasodium salt of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, a combination of citric acid and NasDTPA, or a combination of any two or more thereof, where the method further includes centrifuging the mixture to yield a first treated composition, wherein the first treated composition has less total metals and less
phosphorus than the composition.