Patent ID: 8647396

Claim:
A process for producing biodiesel from a fat, oil or split fatty acid comprising a steryl glycoside, the process comprising: a) transesterifying or esterifying the fat, oil, or split fatty acid with a short-chain alkanol, in the presence of a catalyst to obtain the fatty acid alkyl ester in a first product stream; b) washing the first product stream with water in a washing device, so as to form a suspension layer which comprises the steryl glycoside, the fatty acid alkyl ester, and water on a boundary layer between a heavy phase comprising water and a first light phase comprising the fatty acid alkyl ester, in a first liquid-liquid phase separation; c) introducing kinetic energy into the suspension layer, such that the steryl glycoside, fatty acid alkyl ester, and water pass into the first light phase; d) withdrawing a second product stream from the first light phase as a second light phase comprising the steryl glycoside in at least one of a homogeneously dissolved form, a colloidally dissolved form, and a finely dispersed form of steryl glycoside/fatty acid alkyl ester/water agglomerates; e) intensively mixing the second product stream with water, so as to obtain a third product stream as a third light phase of a second liquid-liquid phase separation, the third product stream comprising steryl glycoside/fatty acid alkyl ester/water agglomerates which are separable from the third product stream by a mechanical separation; f) performing the mechanical separation of the third product stream, so as to provide a fourth product stream and a fifth product stream; g) withdrawing the fourth product stream from the mechanical separation as a fourth light phase; h) withdrawing the fifth product stream from the mechanical separation as a heavy phase enriched in the steryl glycoside; and i) performing a product conditioning on the fourth product stream so as to obtain on-spec biodiesel.