PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF A FATTY ALCOHOL FROM A FATTY ACID

摘要

A process for the production of fatty alcohol or alcohols comprising: subjecting a fatty acid or fatty acid mixture to esterification with a lower alkanol in an esterification reactor maintained under esterification conditions to form a stream comprising the corresponding lower alkyl fatty acid ester or esters; vaporising the stream from step (a): subjecting the vaporised stream of step (b) to hydrogenation in a first hydrogenation zone operated under hydrogenation conditions to form a stream comprising fatty alcohol or alcohols and an amount of unconverted lower alkyl fatty acid ester or esters; subjecting the stream from step (c) to transestenfication in a wax ester reactor maintained under transestenfication conditions in the presence of a transesterification catalyst thereby to convert at least a portion of the lower alkyi fatty acid ester or esters by ester interchange with a corresponding amount of fatty alcohol or alcohols to lower alkanol and to a wax ester or esters; separating the stream from step (d) by distillation to yield a fatty alcohol or alcohols product steam; a wax ester or esters stream; and an overhead stream comprising fatty a!kanol or alkano!s and alkane, and optionally one or both of water and lower alkanol; reacting said overhead stream from step (e) in a wax ester reactor maintained under transestenfication conditions in the presence of a transesterification catalyst with a lower alkyl fatty acid ester or esters thereby to convert at least a portion of the lower alkyl fatty acid ester by ester interchange with a corresponding amount of fatty alcohol or alcohols to lower alkanol and to a wax ester or esters; and separating the wax ester or esters formed from the alkane, and any water and/or lower alkanol present.