The present invention pertains to an efficient and large-scale process to produce a medium-chain triglyceride composition with >95% content for C8 (caprylic acid), C10 (capric acid) and C12 (lauric acid), with the content of lauric acid at about 5% or more. The process involves fractionation of fatty acid methyl esters, which are mainly derived from coconut or palm kernel, their esterification to glycerol to synthesize medium-chain triglycerides, and refining them to significantly increase purity and make them fit for human consumption. Such composition can have important uses in food and its preparation, health supplements, cosmetics, and medicine, among others.

Process including the solvent crystallization of edible fatty material into a crystal slurry containing at least solid crystallized stearin dispersed into a solution composed solvent and olein, and further including the separation of the stearin from the solution by applying centrifugal forces onto the crystals slurry.

A process which can extract a fatty acid from a triglyceride oil includes (a) contacting a triglyceride oil T.sub.1 made of a fatty acid with an aqueous solution W.sub.1 made of a quaternary ammonium salt and an aliphatic diol having 1 to 8 carbon atoms, where a triglyceride oil phase T.sub.2 and an aqueous phase W.sub.2 are obtained, where T.sub.2 has a reduced content of fatty acids compared to T.sub.1 and W.sub.2 has an increased content of fatty acids compared to W.sub.1; and (b) separating the triglyceride oil phase T.sub.2 from the aqueous phase W.sub.2. The quaternary ammonium salt includes a quaternary ammonium cation and a basic anion selected among hydroxide, alkoxide, alkyl carbonate, hydrogen carbonate, carbonate, serinate, prolinate, histidinate, threoninate, valinate, aspartate, taurinate, and lysinate.

A process which can extract a fatty acid from a triglyceride oil includes (a) contacting a triglyceride oil T.sub.1 made of a fatty acid with an aqueous solution W.sub.1 made of a quaternary ammonium salt and an aliphatic diol having 1 to 8 carbon atoms, where a triglyceride oil phase T.sub.2 and an aqueous phase W.sub.2 are obtained, where T.sub.2 has a reduced content of fatty acids compared to T.sub.1 and W.sub.2 has an increased content of fatty acids compared to W.sub.1; and (h) separating the triglyceride oil phase T.sub.2 from the aqueous phase W.sub.2 . The quaternary ammonium salt includes a quaternary ammonium cation and a basic anion selected among hydroxide, alkoxide, alkyl carbonate, hydrogen carbonate, carbonate, serinate, prolinate, histidinate, threoninate, valinate, aspartate, taurinate, and lysinate,

Provided is a method for producing a polyunsaturated fatty acid while preventing deterioration of a silver salt solution. A method for producing a composition comprising a polyunsaturated fatty acid, comprising: supplying an aqueous solution comprising a silver salt into a reaction vessel to contact the aqueous solution with a raw material solution comprising an alkyl ester of the polyunsaturated fatty acid; and collecting the aqueous solution comprising the silver salt which has been contacted with the raw material solution from the reaction vessel, wherein the supply of the aqueous solution comprising the silver salt into the reaction vessel and the collection of the aqueous solution comprising the silver salt from the reaction vessel are carried out concurrently with each other.

Agricultural residues (biomasses) have come-up as potential valuable renewable resources for transformation into many bio-products. To achieve this goal, the isolation of major biopolymers in their purest form through an economical process is demanded for synthesis of the target fine chemicals without impurities. However, the difficulty of fractionating the biomass into cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin by a simple method has greatly limited their isolation from agricultural residues. Also, the lipids and waxes present on the surface of the agricultural residues protect it from external chemical and microbial agents. To overcome this issue, the lipids and waxes have been isolated from the biomass through two step organic solvents extraction. Thereafter lignin, hemicellulose and cellulose are isolated successively from the de-waxed biomass.

A process for obtaining free fatty acid and/or free fatty acid ester, including separating a liquid mixture containing the free fatty acid and/or the fatty acid ester by contacting a vapor of the liquid mixture in a column of a distillation apparatus with condensate formed from the vapor running downward. Heat and mass transfer takes place between the vapor and the condensate on column internals. The column has at least 10 theoretical plates and the separation is conducted with a pressure drop between the top and bottom of the column of p of 3.3 mbars. Appropriately, the liquid mixture, contains polyunsaturated fatty acid, preferably omega-6 or omega-3 fatty acid and/or alkyl monoesters and/or glycerol monoesters. In one embodiment the column has at least 30 theoretical plates and the separation is conducted with a pressure drop p between 3.5 mbar and 6 mbar.

A process for obtaining free fatty acid and/or free fatty acid ester, including separating a liquid mixture containing the free fatty acid and/or the fatty acid ester by contacting a vapor of the liquid mixture in a column of a distillation apparatus with condensate formed from the vapor running downward. Heat and mass transfer takes place between the vapor and the condensate on column internals. The column has at least 10 theoretical plates and the separation is conducted with a pressure drop between the top and bottom of the column of p of 3.3 mbars. Appropriately, the liquid mixture, contains polyunsaturated fatty acid, preferably omega-6 or omega-3 fatty acid and/or alkyl monoesters and/or glycerol monoesters. In one embodiment the column has at least 30 theoretical plates and the separation is conducted with a pressure drop p between 3.5 mbar and 6 mbar.

The present invention relates to processes for extracting lipid from vegetative plant parts such as leaves, stems, roots and tubers, and for producing industrial products such as hydrocarbon products from the lipids. Preferred industrial products include alkyl esters which may be blended with petroleum based fuels.

The present invention relates to processes for producing industrial products such as hydrocarbon products from non-polar lipids in a vegetative plant part. Preferred industrial products include alkyl esters which may be blended with petroleum based fuels.