Method of purifying fatty acid ester products

摘要

The alkali metal salts of fatty acids (soaps) remaining in fatty acid ester products after interesterification and other processing steps are decomposed by dissolving the fatty acid ester product in a suitable solvent, adding water, saturating the mixture with carbon dioxide, removing the water phase containing excess carbon dioxide and bicarbonate of the alkali metal, converting the bicarbonate into carbonate, and using the carbonate in refining, interesterification and other reactions in the processing of fatty acid esters.