Methods and compositions for refining lipid feed stocks

• US 8,466,305 B2
• Filed: 04/05/2011
• Issued: 06/18/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mcneff Research Consultants, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Mcneff Research Consultants, Inc.
• Inventors: McNeff, Clayton V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Carr, Deborah D
• Application Number:
  US13/080,507
• Publication Number:
  US 20110184201A1
• Time in Patent Office: 805 Days
• Field of Search: 554/169
• US Class Current: 554/169
• CPC Class Codes: C07C 67/03 by reacting an ester group with a hydroxy group
• CPC Class Codes: C07C 69/24 esterified with monohydroxylic compounds
• CPC Class Codes: C07C 69/52 Esters of acyclic unsaturated carboxylic acids having the esterified carboxyl group bound to an acyclic carbon atom
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/02 essentially based on components consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen only
• CPC Class Codes: C11B 1/10 by extracting
• CPC Class Codes: C11B 13/00 Recovery of fats, fatty oils or fatty acids from waste materials
• CPC Class Codes: C11B 13/02 from soap stock
• CPC Class Codes: C11C 3/003 by esterification of fatty acids with alcohols C11C3/02 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 50/10 Biofuels, e.g. bio-diesel
• CPC Class Codes: Y02W 30/74 Recovery of fats, fatty oils, fatty acids or other fatty substances, e.g. lanolin or waxes

Abstract

The present invention relates to systems and methods of using fatty acid alkyl ester solutions to refine feed stocks before converting the feed stocks into fatty acid fatty acid alkyl esters. In an embodiment, the invention includes a method for producing fatty acid alkyl esters. The method can include mixing a crude lipid feed stock with a refining solution to form a crude product mixture, the refining solution comprising greater than about 10 wt. % fatty acid alkyl esters. The method can include extracting the liquid phase from the crude product mixture to obtain a purified lipid feed stock. The method can also include reacting the purified lipid feed stock with an alcohol to form a product mixture comprising fatty acid alkyl esters. In an embodiment, the invention includes a method of making a fatty acid alkyl ester composition. The method can include extracting lipids from a corn-based ethanol production byproduct, adding an alcohol solution to the lipids to form a reaction mixture, and contacting the reaction mixture with a metal oxide catalyst. Other embodiments are included herein.

Claims

1. A method for producing fatty acid alkyl esters comprising:

mixing a crude lipid feed stock with a refining solution to form a crude product mixture, the refining solution comprising fatty acid alkyl esters from the reaction of a lipid feed stock and an alcohol;

extracting the liquid phase from the crude product mixture to obtain a purified lipid feed stock;

reacting the purified lipid feed stock with an alcohol to form a product mixture comprising fatty acid alkyl esters.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of reacting the purified lipid feed stock with an alcohol comprises contacting the purified lipid feed stock and the alcohol with a metal oxide catalyst.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein contacting the purified lipid feed stock and the alcohol with a metal oxide catalyst is performed under supercritical conditions for the alcohol.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of contacting the purified lipid feed stock and the alcohol with a metal oxide catalyst is performed at a temperature of between about 350 and 400 degrees Celsius.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of contacting the purified lipid feed stock and the alcohol with a metal oxide catalyst is performed at a pressure of between about 1500 and 5000 psi.

6. The method of claim 1, the refining solution comprising biodiesel fuel.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising heating the crude product mixture before extracting the liquid phase from the crude product mixture.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising heating the crude product mixture to greater than about 100 degrees Centigrade before extracting the liquid phase from the crude product mixture.

9. The method of claim 2, the metal oxide catalyst comprising a material selected from the group consisting of zirconia, titania, hafnia, and alumina.

10. The method of claim 2, the metal oxide catalyst comprising a material selected from the group consisting of zirconia and titania.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of removing residual free fatty acids from the product mixture.

12. The method of claim 1, the alcohol comprising a C1-C6 alcohol.

13. The method of claim 1, the crude lipid feed stock including a component selected from the group consisting of acidulated soapstock, tall oil, rapeseed oil, soybean oil, canola oil, cottonseed oil, grape seed oil, mustard seed oil, corn oil, linseed oil, sunflower oil, poppy-seed oil, walnut oil, peanut oil, rice bran oil, camellia oil, castor oil, and olive oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, rice oil, algae oil, seaweed oil, Chinese Tallow tree oil, yellow grease, choice white grease, lard, tallow, brown grease, fish oil and poultry fat.

14. The process of claim 1, the crude lipid feed stock having an acid number of greater than or equal to about 3 mg KOH/g oil.

15. The process of claim 1, the crude lipid feed stock comprising acidulated soap stock.

16. The process of claim 1, the crude lipid feed stock comprising corn distillers syrup.

17. A method of refining a crude lipid feed stock comprising:

mixing a crude lipid feed stock with a refining solution to form a crude product mixture, the refining solution comprising greater than about 10 wt. % fatty acid alkyl esters; and

extracting the liquid phase from the crude product mixture to obtain a purified lipid feed stock.