Patent ID: 7579493

Claim:
A countercurrent process for the continuous esterification of C 1-22 fatty acids with C 1-10 monoalkanols, C 2-5 di- or trialkanols or mixtures thereof, said process comprising: (a) partially reacting the fatty acids and alkanols in a preliminary reactor in the liquid phase in the presence of a heterogeneous catalyst selected from the group consisting of organic or inorganic, basic or acidic, anion or cation exchangers, acid clays and zeolites, (b) passing the partially-reacted reaction mixture to a separation unit, (c) removing water from the partially-reacted reaction mixture in the separation unit, (d) passing the resulting de-watered, partially-reacted reaction mixture to a countercurrent reaction column with attached rectifying column on top, (e) further reacting the fatty acids and alkanols in the countercurrent reaction column in the liquid phase in the presence of heterogeneous catalysts, (f) removing the water and excess volatile components through said rectifying column, and (g) removing the crude product from the bottom of said reaction column.