This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Oleochemical is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
Oleochemicals are chemicals derived from biological oils or fats. They are analogous to petrochemicals which are chemicals derived from petroleum. The hydrolysis or alcoholysis of oils or fats form the basis of the oleochemical industry.
The formation of basic oleochemical substances like fatty acids, fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), fatty alcohols, fatty amines and glycerols are by various chemical and enzymatic reactions. Intermediate chemical substances produced from these basic oleochemical substances include alcohol ethoxylates, alcohol sulfates, alcohol ether sulfates, quaternary ammonium substances, monoacylglycerols (MAG), diacylglycerols (DAG), structured triacylglycerols (TAG) and sugar esters.
Applications
The most common application of oleochemicals is biodiesel production. Fatty acids are esterified with an alcohol, commonly methanol to form methyl esters. Another common application is in the production of detergents; lauric acid is used to produce sodium lauryl sulfate, the main ingredient in many personal care products. Other applications include the production of lubricants, green solvents, and bioplastics.
Hydrolysis
The hydrolysis of the triglycerides composing oils and fats produces fatty acids and glycerol:
- RCOOCH2-CHOOCR-CH2OCOR + 3 H2O → 3 RCOOH + HOCH2-CHOH-CH2OH
The addition of base helps the reaction proceed to completion.
Transesterification
If oils or fats are made to react with an alcohol (R'OH) instead of with water, the process is alcoholysis. It is also called transesterification, because the glycerol fragment of the fatty acid tri-ester is exchanged for that of another alcohol. Thus, the products are fatty acid esters and glycerol:
- RCOOCH2-CHOOCR-CH2OCOR + 3 R'OH → 3 RCOOR' + HOCH2-CHOH-CH2OH
The fatty acid or fatty esters produced by these methods may be transformed. For example, hydrogenation converts unsaturated fatty acids into saturated fatty acids. The acids or esters can also be reduced to give fatty alcohols.
 |
This organic chemistry article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 29 July 2008, at 14:37.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Oleochemical".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.