Inventors:
Reuben O. Feuge - New Orleans LA
Hampden J. Zeringue - Destrehan LA
Assignee:
The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of
Agriculture - Washington DC
International Classification:
C11C 302
C09F 508
C09F 300
B01F 1730
Abstract:
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.