CATALYSTS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF FINE CHEMICALS - PRODUCTION OF FOOD EMULSIFIERS, MONOGLYCERIDES, BY GLYCEROLYSIS OF FATS WITH SOLID BASE CATALYSTS

Glycerolysis of triolein and rapeseed oil were carried out with base c atalysts such as Cs-MCM-41, Cs-Sepiolite, MgO, and calcined hydrotalci tes with different Al/Al + Mg ratios. A wide range of basicities were covered in order to extract active hydrogens with pKa values from 9 to 16. MgO and hydrotalcites with low Al content, basic enough to extrac t protons from aliphatic alcohols such as glycerol, are active and sel ective catalysts for glycerolysis. By optimizing the main process vari ables, such as temperature and the glycerol/oil ratio it is possible t o obtain a high yield of monoglycerides as well as to meet the quality requirements established by the European Union. (C) 1998 Academic Pre ss.