METHODS OF MAKING HIGH WEIGHT ESTERS ACIDS AND DERIVATIVES THEREOF

摘要

Methods and compositions are provided for refining natural oils and for producing high weight esters high weight acids and/or high weight derivatives thereof wherein the compositions are made by cross metathesizing low weight unsaturated esters or low weight unsaturated acids having hydrocarbon chain lengths less than or equal to C24 with an olefin feedstock thereby forming a metathesized product composition comprising high weight esters or high weight acids having hydrocarbon chain lengths greater than C18 wherein at least a portion of the hydrocarbon chain lengths in the metathesized product are larger than the hydrocarbon chain lengths in the starting feedstock. In certain embodiments the low weight unsaturated esters or low weight unsaturated acids are derived by reacting a natural oil feedstock in a metathesis reactor in the presence of a metathesis catalyst to form a metathesized product composition comprising olefins and low weight unsaturated esters and then separating the olefins from the low weight unsaturated esters. In some embodiments the low weight unsaturated ester compositions may be hydrolyzed to form the low weight unsaturated acid compositions.