Process for preparing sucrose fatty acid esters

摘要

A process for preparing a sucrose fatty acid ester having a low degree of substitution, comprising heat-melting a sucrose fatty acid ester (A) having an average degree of substitution of from 3 to 8 and sucrose or a sucrose fatty acid ester (B) having a lower degree of substitution than that of said sucrose fatty acid ester (A) in the presence of an alkali catalyst and a soap; and a process for preparing a sucrose fatty acid ester having a high degree of substitution comprising a first step of heat-melting a sucrose fatty acid ester (A) having an average degree of substitution of from 3 to 8 and sucrose or a sucrose fatty acid ester (B) having a lower degree of substitution than that of said sucrose fatty acid ester (A) in the presence of an alkali catalyst and a soap and a second step of reacting the resulting molten mixture with a fatty acid lower alkyl ester are disclosed. The invention makes it possible to prepare a sucrose fatty acid ester by a solvent-free method at an increased reaction rate of sucrose while suppressing decomposition of sucrose. Further, the soap used in the reaction can easily be removed from the reaction mixture, and the resulting product is free from coloration.