A PROCESS FOR PRODUCING BIODIESEL, LUBRICANTS, AND FUEL AND LUBRICANT ADDITIVES IN A CRITICAL FLUID MEDIUM

摘要

A process for producing alkyl esters (116) useful in biofuels and lubricants by transesterifying glyceride- or esterifying free fatty acid containing substance feed (100) in a single critical phase medium (104) providing increased reaction rates, decreased loss of catalyst or catalyst activity and improved overall yield of desired product. The process involves the steps of dissolving glyceride- or free fatty acid-containing substance feed (100), such as animal fats, vegetable oils, rendered fats, and restaurant grease, with an alcohol stream (102) or water stream (102) into a critical fluid medium (104); reacting in reactor (10) the said mixture over either a solid or liquid acidic or basic catalyst and sequentially in separator (14) separating the products from each other and from the critical fluid medium (104), which critical fluid medium (104) can then be recycled back in the process.