The present invention discloses a process for the oxidation of fatty acids comprises reacting fatty acid with O.sub.2 containing O.sub.3 for a period of 0.1-60 min at a temp in the range of 78 to 30 deg C. to obtain the corresponding products, wherein the conversion of the fatty acid is in the range of 80% to 100% and the process is catalyst free and co-oxidant free.

The invention provides a photoinitiator which is prepared by ring-opening reaction of epoxidized vegetable oil with one or more Norrish II photoinitiators having a carboxylic acid group, hydroxyl group, mercaptan group and/or amine group, and one or more acrylic compounds. The invention also provides a photocurable composition comprising the photoinitiator. The photoinitiator of the present invention has the advantages of low migration, non-toxicity, low volatility, thermal stability and easy dissolution in organic solvents.

A method for producing a fatty acid can include: receiving a hydrocarbon sample derived from at least one of carbon dioxide, methane, coal, biomass, or other suitable carbon feedstock, oxidizing the hydrocarbon sample to form oxygenated hydrocarbons, optionally separating different oxygenated species from the oxygenated hydrocarbons, optionally fractioning the oxygenated hydrocarbons, and optionally esterifying the oxygenated hydrocarbons such as to form triglycerides.

A method can include receiving an oxygenate sample, fractioning the oxygenate sample into one or more fractions, and separating the fractions (e.g. using FAME fractionation, FAEE fractionation, crystallization, solvent extraction, or other similar methods). The fractions can optionally be separated independently. The method can optionally include esterifying carboxylic acids separated from the fractions with glycerol and deodorizing the glycerides.

The invention relates to partially saponified rice bran wax oxidates, to a process for the production of these products and to their use for agriculture or forestry purposes, as an additive in plastics processing, in care products, in printing inks and/or in paints.

Disclosed herein is a method for preparing ethoxylated glycerol esters (formula (I)) by reacting ethylene oxide with triglycerides (formula (II)) using a calcium catalyst. The catalyst is formed from calcium hydroxide (A), a C.sub.3-C.sub.40 carboxylic acid (B) (formula (III)), and a strong acid (AC) (pKa3) derived from sulfur or phosphorus oxides. In formulae (I) and (II), R.sub.1-R.sub.3 are C.sub.7-C.sub.24 alkyl chains, with ethoxylation units (m+n+o) averaging>5. In formula (III), R.sup.4 is selected from saturated or unsaturated, linear or branched C.sub.1-C.sub.30 alkyl chains, and R.sup.5, R.sup.6, R.sup.7, and R.sup.8 are hydrogen. The calcium hydroxide: carboxylic acid ratio (A):(B) is 1:1-1:5, while calcium hydroxide: strong acid ratio (A):(AC) is 5:1-1:1. ##STR00001##

A method for producing a fatty acid can include: receiving a hydrocarbon sample derived from methane or other suitable carbon feedstock, oxidizing the hydrocarbon sample to form oxygenated hydrocarbons, optionally separating different oxygenated species from the oxygenated hydrocarbons, optionally fractioning the oxygenated hydrocarbons, and optionally esterifying the oxygenated hydrocarbons such as to form triglycerides.

A method can include oxidizing hydrocarbons (and optionally oxygenates with oxygenation states less than carboxylic acids such as alcohols, aldehydes, etc.), separating the oxygenated hydrocarbons into saponifiable species and nonsaponifiable species, and treating the saponifiable species (e.g., heat treating, hydrogenation, etc. such as to reduce unsaturated bonds to saturated bonds, to convert oxygenates with greater degrees of oxygenation than monocarboxylic acids into monocarboxylic acids, etc.).