Production of fatty acid esters from crude oils or fats by alkaline transesterification for use as bio-diesel fuel, comprises pretreatment with alkaline glycerol to remove free fatty acids and/or acid-alcohol mixture to remove slimes

摘要

Production of fatty acid esters from crude oils or fats by alkaline transesterification with primary and/or secondary alcohols comprises pretreating the oil or fat by washing with an alkaline glycerol phase to remove free fatty acids and/or treatment with a mixture of primary alcohol and concentrated acid to remove insolubilized slimes. Production of fatty acid esters from crude oils or fats by alkaline transesterification with primary and/or secondary alcohols comprises pretreating the oil or fat by: (a) washing with an alkaline glycerol phase from the transesterification reaction to remove free fatty acids as soaps in the glycerol phase; and/or (b) treatment with 0.1-5 wt.% of a mixture of primary alcohol and concentrated acid and separation of insolubilized slimes.