Systems and methods of refining any of crude vegetable oil, plant oils, fats, oils, greases, or soaps to meet edible oil specifications. The refining including mixing the crude oil feedstock with water and at least reactant, to form a mixture; feeding the mixture into a hydrothermal reactor and subjecting to heat, pressure, and turbulent flow conditions to cause rapid hydrolysis of phospholipids and reaction of the inorganic contaminants with the reactant to form inorganic salts; maintaining the temperature, pressure, and turbulent flow conditions of the mixture for a predetermined space time to prevent the organic portion of the mixture from undergoing a conversion reaction and to form a hydrothermal reactor effluent.

The present invention relates to methods of producing industrial products from plant lipids, particularly from vegetative parts of plants. In particular, the present invention provides oil products such as biodiesel and synthetic diesel and processes for producing these, as well as plants having an increased level of one or more non-polar lipids such as triacylglycerols and an increased total non-polar lipid content. In one particular embodiment, the present invention relates to combinations of modifications in two or more of lipid handling enzymes, oil body proteins, decreased lipid catabolic enzymes and/or transcription factors regulating lipid biosynthesis to increase the level of one or more non-polar lipids and/or the total non-polar lipid content and/or mono-unsaturated fatty acid content in plants or any part thereof. In an embodiment, the present invention relates to a process for extracting lipids. In another embodiment, the lipid is converted to one or more hydrocarbon products in harvested plant vegetative parts to produce alkyl esters of the fatty acids which are suitable for use as a renewable biodiesel fuel.

The present invention relates to methods of producing industrial products from plant lipids, particularly from vegetative parts of plants. In particular, the present invention provides oil products such as biodiesel and synthetic diesel and processes for producing these, as well as plants having an increased level of one or more non-polar lipids such as triacylglycerols and an increased total non-polar lipid content. In one particular embodiment, the present invention relates to combinations of modifications in two or more of lipid handling enzymes, oil body proteins, decreased lipid catabolic enzymes and/or transcription factors regulating lipid biosynthesis to increase the level of one or more non-polar lipids and/or the total non-polar lipid content and/or mono-unsaturated fatty acid content in plants or any part thereof. In an embodiment, the present invention relates to a process for extracting lipids. In another embodiment, the lipid is converted to one or more hydrocarbon products in harvested plant vegetative parts to produce alkyl esters of the fatty acids which are suitable for use as a renewable biodiesel fuel.

A storage tank system includes a storage tank for storing biological feedstock, a filtering system configured to separate sludge from the biological feedstock, and a water separator configured to separate water from the biological feedstock. A material transfer system transfers biological feedstock from the lower portion of the storage tank via the filtering system to the water separator and, from the water separator, residual biological feedstock from which water has been removed at least partially back to the storage tank. The removal of water reduces unwanted gas generation by microbiological reactions, and safety of the storage tank system is improved.

Methods for producing oil from distillers corn oil having high free fatty acid content are provided. In the method, distiller's corn oil is treated with a mixture including an alcohol to result in a low-free fatty acid oily phase and an alcohol phase. The mixture may also include an alkali. The alcohol may be a monohydric alcohol and an aqueous alcohol, such as an aqueous alcohol having a concentration of at least about 15% alcohol-by-weight. The low-free fatty acid phase may include oil and at least one impurity. The low-free fatty acid phase may be cooled, and the oil may be separated from the at least one impurity using membrane filtration.

Methods for producing oil from distillers corn oil having high free fatty acid content are provided. In the method, distiller's corn oil is treated with a mixture including an alcohol to result in a low-free fatty acid oily phase and an alcohol phase. The mixture may also include an alkali. The alcohol may be a monohydric alcohol and an aqueous alcohol, such as an aqueous alcohol having a concentration of at least about 15% alcohol-by-weight. The low-free fatty acid phase may include oil and at least one impurity. The low-free fatty acid phase may be cooled, and the oil may be separated from the at least one impurity using membrane filtration.

Disclosed is a process for de-acidification of fats and oils, to obtain micronutrients, to obtain a fatty acid product, and recovery of refined oils, comprising: feeding pre-treated oil feed stream to a vacuum steam stripping section, stripping off volatile phases. Feeding the stripped off the volatile phases to a condensing stage providing a condensed phase and a vapour phase. Sending the condensed phase to a vacuum distillation operation and sending the vapour phase to a cold condensation stage. Subjecting the condensed phase to a vacuum distillation operation, and obtaining a high temperature distillate and a stream of volatiles. Feeding the vapour phase from the high temperature condensing stage along with the stream of volatiles from the vacuum distillation operation to the cold condensation stage obtaining a stream of non-condensable gases and a cold temperature distillate, letting the stream of non-condensable gases continue to a vacuum system, and recovering from the vacuum steam stripping section a stream of refined oil.

The present invention relates to a process for removing metal from metal-containing glyceride oil comprising the steps of: (i) contacting a glyceride oil, comprising chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel and/or copper in a total amount of from 10 mg/kg to 10,000 mg/kg, with a liquid comprising a basic quaternary ammonium salt to form a treated glyceride oil; wherein the basic quaternary ammonium salt comprises a basic anion selected from hydroxide, alkoxide, alkylcarbonate, hydrogen carbonate, carbonate, serinate, prolinate, histidinate, threoninate, valinate, asparaginate, taurinate and lysinate; and (ii) separating the treated glyceride oil from a salt comprising the quaternary ammonium cation, providing a treated glyceride oil containing a reduced amount of metals.

The present invention provides a composition comprising 10-40 mass! of C.sub.8-30 linear alkanes, up to 20 mass % of C.sub.7-20 aromatic hydrocarbons, at least 90 mass % of which are monoaromatic, and no more than 1 massl in total of oxygen containing compounds; wherein the total amount of C.sub.8-30 alkanes in the composition is 50-95 mass % (and the total amount of C.sub.8-30 alkanes, C.sub.7-20 aromatic hydrocarbons and C.sub.8-30 cycloalkanes is at least 95 massl; and wherein the amounts are based on the mass of the composition. Also provided is a method for producing the composition comprising the step of hydroprocessing a biological feedstock using a catalyst and the step of fractionating the product of the hydroprocessing step.

The present invention provides a composition comprising 10-40 mass! of C.sub.8-30 linear alkanes, up to 20 mass % of C.sub.7-20 aromatic hydrocarbons, at least 90 mass % of which are monoaromatic, and no more than 1 massl in total of oxygen containing compounds; wherein the total amount of C.sub.8-30 alkanes in the composition is 50-95 mass % (and the total amount of C.sub.8-30 alkanes, C.sub.7-20 aromatic hydrocarbons and C.sub.8-30 cycloalkanes is at least 95 massl; and wherein the amounts are based on the mass of the composition. Also provided is a method for producing the composition comprising the step of hydroprocessing a biological feedstock using a catalyst and the step of fractionating the product of the hydroprocessing step.