Food Lipids: Chemistry, Nutrition, and Biotechnology

Figure 3 Basic oleochemical processing: steps for splitting of oils or fats into component
fatty acids and glycerin.
We shall not discuss these industrial applications at great length, but it is important
to recognize their importance in the dynamics of the total fats and oils industry.
Figure 4 is a typical process flow diagram showing the types of derivatives
that are of current importance in the various industrial sectors. As can be seen from
the end products synthesized and their uses, most fatty acids are converted to fatty
alcohols and then to a variety of derivatives that utilize their surface activity. Although
these compounds are, as a class, called surfactants, they perform a variety of
functions in a variety of end products, including wetting agents, spreading agents,
emulsifiers, foaming agents, and foam stabilizers. The majority of these surfactants
are based on alcohols derived from lauric acid. Natural alcohols (from naturally
occurring fats and oils containing C12:0 and/or fatty acids of interest >C12) compete
with synthetic alcohols derived from petroleum. Synthetic alcohols historically dominated
the market, primarily because of their low cost, but naturally derived alcohols
are becoming increasingly important. Natural alcohol production is projected to equal
that of the synthetics by the year 2000, as indicated by the data for fatty acid production
in Table 1. No new synthetic alcohol capacity has come on-line in the last
decade, and no new plants are projected for the near future. In contrast, six new
natural alcohol facilities have been built since 1990.
Copyright 2002 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. All Rights Reserved.