PROCESS FOR PRODUCING BIODIESEL WITH IMPROVED FILTRATION CHARACTERISTICS AND BIODIESEL THUS PRODUCED

摘要

A process for the production and purification of fatty acid esters of lower alkyl alcohols with improved filtration characteristics comprising the steps of: a) transesterifying a mixture of fatty acid esters of glycerol with a lower alkyl alcohol while using an alkaline catalyst; b) separating the reaction mixture resulting from step (a) into a glycerol phase and a fatty acid lower alkyl ester phase; c) inactivating the catalytic intermediates present in said fatty acid lower alkyl ester phase; d) removing the lower alkyl alcohol from the mixture resulting from step (c) by evaporation at reduced pressure to a value of less than 2% by weight; e) treating the evaporation residue resulting from step (d) with water; and f) isolating the fatty acid esters of lower alcohols by drying the product resulting from step (e); and biodiesel containing FAME produced according to this process.