Patent ID: 8299282
Filing Date: 2012-10-30
Classification: C07C,C11C,Y02E

Abstract:
1. Continuous process for esterifying free fatty acids present in starting materials, comprising the steps of: 1) removing the free fatty acids from the remaining starting material by distillation or rectification, 2) reacting the deacidified starting material remaining after step 1) in a transesterification to obtain fatty acid alkyl esters, 3) reacting the free fatty acids with alcohols using at least one acidic catalyst in a fixed bed, in an esterification reaction, 4) removing the water formed as a by-product in step 3), optionally together with at least a portion of the alcohol unconverted in step 3), 5) converting the dewatered product obtained from step 4), with addition of further alcohol, using at least one acidic catalyst in a fixed bed, in an esterification reaction, 6) mixing the reaction product obtained from step 3) and/or the reaction product obtained from step 5) with the remaining starting material obtained from step 1) and/or the fatty acid alkyl esters obtained from step 2).