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Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 2(2-3), 2007, 22-31

Catalyst in Basic Oleochemicals

Eva Suyenty, Herlina Sentosa, Mariani Agustine, Sandy Anwar,

Abun Lie, and Erwin Sutanto *

Research and Development Department, PT. Ecogreen Oleochemicals

Jln. Pelabuhan Kav 1, Kabil, Batam 29435, Telp/Fax: (0778)711374

Presented at Symposium and Congress of MKICS 2007, 18-19 April 2007, Semarang, Indonesia

Abstract
Currently Indonesia is the world largest palm oil producer with production volume reaching 16 million
tones per annum. The high crude oil and ethylene prices in the last 3 – 4 years contribute to the healthy
demand growth for basic oleochemicals: fatty acids and fatty alcohols. Oleochemicals are starting to replace
crude oil derived products in various applications. As widely practiced in petrochemical industry, catalyst
plays a very important role in the production of basic oleochemicals. Catalytic reactions are abound in the
production of oleochemicals: Nickel based catalysts are used in the hydrogenation of unsaturated fatty ac-
ids; sodium methylate catalyst in the transesterification of triglycerides; sulfonic based polystyrene resin
catalyst in esterification of fatty acids; and copper chromite/copper zinc catalyst in the high pressure hydro-
genation of methyl esters or fatty acids to produce fatty alcohols. To maintain long catalyst life, it is crucial
to ensure the absence of catalyst poisons and inhibitors in the feed. The preparation methods of nickel and
copper chromite catalysts are as follows: precipitation, filtration, drying, and calcinations. Sodium methy-
late is derived from direct reaction of sodium metal and methanol under inert gas. The sulfonic based poly-
styrene resin is derived from sulfonation of polystyrene crosslinked with di-vinyl-benzene. © 2007 CREC
UNDIP. All rights reserved.
.
Keywords: catalyst; hydrogenation; oleochemicals; transesterification

1. Introduction Oleochemicals are starting to replace crude oil

Palm plantation shows high growth in the last derived products in various applications. Stearic
10 years. Indonesia has surpassed Malaysia in acid is replacing paraffin wax in candle making,
palm oil production for the first time in year 2006. meanwhile natural fatty alcohol replacing synthet-
Both countries produce more than 80% of total ics. The relentless climb of palm oil production and
world production. Table 1 shows palm oil produc- the recent high crude oil price encourage signifi-
tion from 2002 to 2006. With the ever-increasing cant growth of Indonesian basic oleochemicals.
palm plantation acreage, the Indonesian palm oil In the early 20th century, the commercial pro-
production will continue to increase much faster duction of fatty alcohol was derived from direct
than Malaysian. On the other hand, the high crude sodium hydrogenation of sperm oil from whales (1).
oil and ethylene prices in the last 3-4 years contrib- Later, many countries listed sperm whales as en-
ute to the healthy demand growth for basic oleo- dangered species and banned the importation of
chemicals: fatty acids and fatty alcohols . their product derivatives. The fatty alcohol produc-

* Corresponding Author. Telp/Fax. (0778)711374

E-mail address: [email protected] (Erwin Sutanto)

Copyright © 2007, BCREC, ISSN 1978-2993

 Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 2(2-3), 2007, 23

Table 1. Palm Oil Production (in thousand tones)

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Malaysia 11,908 13,354 13,974 14,961 15,880
Indonesia 9,370 10,600 12,380 14,000 15,900
Others 3,756 3,926 3,586 4,769 5,000
Total 25,034 27,880 29,940 33,730 36,780

Figure 1. The effect of reaction time on the polymerization of acrylonitrile: Reaction condition: 0.5 g
exchanged bentonite; acrylonitrile 1.886 mol.dm-3; K2S2O8 0.03 mol.dm-3 at different temperature

ers then switched their starting raw materials to oleochemicals and thus enhance their widespread
tallow, lard, coconut oil, palm kernel oil, and cas- use. This paper is intended to review the catalytic
tor oil. Since the mid 1950s, catalytic hydrogena- process in the production of basic oleochemicals.
tion to produce fatty alcohol from natural fats and
oils was proved to be more economical and re- 2. Catalytic Process in Basic Oleochemicals
placed metallic sodium hydrogenation. 2.1. Unsaturated fatty acid hydrogenation
It is plausible to produce fatty alcohol from Saturated fatty acids, naturally exist as
direct catalytic hydrogenation of triglycerides. straight chains, do not contain any double bonds
However, the catalyst and hydrogen consump- or other functional groups along the chain.
tions are higher because by-product glycerin will Whereas unsaturated fatty acids are of similar
be simultaneously hydrogenated to produce pro- form, except that one or more alkene functional
pylene glycols and propanol. Moreover, glycerin groups exist along the chain, i.e.: each alkene sub-
and glycerides were found to be poisonous to the stituting a single bond "-CH2-CH2-" part of the
hydrogenation catalyst. The current practice of chain with a double bond "-CH=CH-". Unsatu-
fatty alcohol production begins with separating rated fatty acids are naturally found in vegetable
the glycerin from fatty acid/methyl ester before oils, including palm oil, palm kernel oil, and soy-
hydrogenate the fatty acid/methyl ester further to bean oil .
fatty alcohol. The modern manufacturing routes Unsaturated fatty acids are often not desir-
of basic oleochemicals are shown in Figure 1. able in a number of fatty acid industrial applica-
As widely practiced in petrochemical industry, tions, such as: metal stearates, rubber compound-
catalysts also play a very important role in the ing, candles, waxes, and crayons. The presence of
production of basic oleochemicals. The invention double bond lowers the melting point and reduces
and development of highly selective catalysts of- the shelf-life and heat stability due to vulnerabil-
ten improve the economic competitiveness of basic ity of the double bond toward ambient oxidation.
 Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 2(2-3), 2007, 24

To improve the shelf-life and increase the melting

point, the unsaturated fatty acids are converted
to saturated fatty acids by the relatively simple
hydrogenation reaction:
R 1 − CH = CH − R 2 − COOH + H 2 ⇔ R 1 − CH 2 − CH 2 − R 2 − COOH

A great care on the choice of catalyst, reaction

temperature, and reaction pressure should be
taken to avoid hydrogen attacking the carboxyl
group during the hydrogenation of double bond.
The heterogeneous catalyst normally used in the
hydrogenation of unsaturated fatty acids is nickel
based catalyst.
Figure 2 shows process flow diagram of indus-
trial scale unsaturated fatty acid hydrogenation.
The unsaturated fatty acid is first passed through
a dryer, mixed with hydrogen, added with nickel
catalyst slurry, and hydrogenated at 25 atm and
453–523 K in a buss loop or slurry reactor. The
sulfur, phosphorus, bromine and nitrogen com-
pound in the feed should be minimized to below 1
ppm, because they are poisons to the nickel cata-
lyst. By product nickel soaps are produced as side In the reaction, a large and branched triglyceride
reaction from this process. (TG) is reacted with methanol to produce diglyc-
The nickel catalyst is prepared by precipitat- eride (DG) and methyl ester. DG is then reacted
ing a nickel salt, usually sulfate or chloride, on an further with methanol to produce monoglyceride
inert support, such as silica, alumina, or a combi- (MG) and methyl ester. Finally MG reacts with
nation thereof. The precipitate is filtered, washed, methanol to produce glycerol and methyl ester.
and dried. The resulting powder is then reduced All the three reaction steps are reversible and at
with hydrogen at 753 – 813 K, coated with triglyc- the end of the transesterification reaction usually
eride fat, chilled, and formed into pellets (2). a small percentage of MG remain in the product
mixture.
A process flow diagram of continuous methyl
ester production by transesterification is shown in
2.2. Methyl ester by transesterification Figure 3. Natural oils or fats are mixed with ex-
The reaction mechanism of transesterification cess methanol and homogeneous alkali-based
can be described as follows:

Figure 2. Unsaturated Fatty Acid Hydrogenation

 Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 2(2-3), 2007, 25

catalyst at atmospheric pressure and 333 – 338 K homogeneous alkali-based catalyst. Metal alkox-
in a continuous stirred tank reactor. Common ide, such as sodium methoxide, is the most effec-
catalyst for transesterification is alkali-based (3), tive catalyst for transesterification due to its high
due to its higher reactivity than the acid. The alkalinity. Methoxide ion easily attacks triglyc-
acid-catalyzed transesterification is normally erides and releases them as methyl ester.
three orders of magnitude slower than the alkali. Sodium methoxide is commercially produced
Moreover, acid-based catalyst is highly corrosive. from reaction of sodium metal and methanol un-
The residence time of reaction mixture in the der inert gas:
stirred reactor with homogeneous alkali-based
catalyst is about 1-2 hours. In order to achieve a 2 Na + 2 CH 3 OH → 2 Na + − OCH 3 + H 2
complete transesterification, it is often desirable
to have a transesterification plant with two con- Caustic soda and potassium hydroxide can also
tinuous stirred reactors in series. provide methoxide ion in methanol solution. How-
The use of homogeneous alkali-based catalysts ever, water is generated:
limits the choice of feedstock to refined oil with
very low free fatty acid (FFA) because FFA con- NaOH + CH 3OH → Na + − OCH 3 + H 2 O
sumes the alkali based catalyst to produce soap in
the glycerin-water. The presence of soap also in- The presence of water interfere transesterifica-
creases the glycerin-water viscosity, increases the tion (4).
concentration of monoglyceride in the glycerin- Figure 4 shows the typical performance of four
water, and complicates the separation of fatty different alkaline catalysts in methanol solution
matters from glycerin. in laboratory scale transesterification. The per-
It is also crucial to maintain a very low level centage of MG remained in methyl ester indicates
of water in the reaction mixture of transesterifica- the performance of each catalyst to complete the
tion. The presence of water will consume alkali- transesterification reaction. Sodium methoxide is
based catalyst, forms hydroxide ion which then the best catalyst with methyl ester yield of up to
reacts with oil to form soap, and hamper the com- 99% and has the least MG in the methyl ester.
pleteness of transesterification reaction. Ma, et al.
(4) reported that water and FFA content should
be maintained below 0.06 wt% and 0.5 wt% re-
spectively in order to have a complete transesteri-
fication of beef tallow under alkaline condition.
The low water content is more crucial than the
low FFA content.
Sodium methoxide, caustic soda, potassium
hydroxide, and sodium octoxide are examples of

Figure 3. Methyl Ester by Transesterification

 Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 2(2-3), 2007, 26

2.00
methanol under atmospheric pressure at
temperature as low as below 343 K, limited by the
1.50 methanol boiling point. While in a continuous
% monoglyceride

reactive distillation column, the reaction can be

1.00 carried out at higher temperature, up to 403 K.
The withdrawal of water to ensure the complete
0.50 conversion of fatty acid to methyl ester in a batch
reactor is a challenge because methanol as one of
0.00 the reactant has a lower boiling point than water.
NaOCH3 30% NaOH 20% KOH 20% NaOC8H17 31%
Catalyst in Me thanol Solution
Table 2. Fatty Acid Esterification Using Various
Figure 4. % Monoglyceride in Methyl Ester with R R R R
Different Catalysts -1 -2 -3 -4
Max. operating temp 4 4 4 4
(K) 63 13 03 03
2.3. Methyl ester by fatty acid esterification Conversion (%) at 9 9 9 9
373-403 K 6.3 6.4 7.1 6.4

The reaction to produce methyl ester from

fatty acid esterification is as follows:

Fatty acid is simply reacted with methanol to

produce methyl ester and water. The reaction is
reversible and the presence of water will inhibit
the esterification reaction. To have a complete
conversion of fatty acid to methyl ester, water
should be continuously withdrawn from the
reaction mixture.
Fatty acid esterification can be catalyzed by
homogeneous or heterogeneous acid catalyst. Figure 5. Methyl Ester by Fatty Acid Esterifica-
Soluble acid catalyst normally used is sulfonic tion
acid or any other strong acid, such as: sulfuric
acid and hydrochloric acid. Para-toluene sulfonic Figure 5 shows process flow diagram of a
acid is the preferable homogeneous catalyst due continuous esterification process in a reactive
to less corrosive compared to the inorganic acids. distillation column filled with resin catalyst. At
The use of homogeneous catalyst creates the top of the esterification column, fatty acid is
problem in the separation and the recovery of the introduced while water and excess methanol are
catalyst from methyl ester. To overcome the continuously withdrawn. The iron content in the
problem, several types of solid catalysts for fatty fatty acid feed should be maintained below 1 ppm
acid esterification have been developed. One of because iron is poisonous to the resin catalyst. At
the preferred solid acid catalysts used is a the bottom of the column, fresh methanol is
polystyrene resin. The polystyrene is cross-linked introduced and methyl ester is counter current
with di-vinyl-benzene to form macroporous strong continuously withdrawn. To ensure complete
acidic polystyrene resin catalyst. Esterification conversion of fatty acid to methyl ester, it is
using resin catalyst is temperature-limited; important to minimize water in the column and
higher temperature will cause the catalyst inject fresh methanol into bottom of the reactor. It
degraded excessively. However, a single stage is imperative to have methyl ester with low fatty
laboratory batch esterification process, catalyzed acid in fatty alcohol synthesis because fatty acid
by resin at 373 – 403 K, is able to give more than is poisonous to high pressure hydrogenation
95% in conversion, as shown in Table 2. catalyst. A small amount of dimethyl ether, as an
Fatty acid esterification by methanol can be etherification result of 2 methanol molecules,
carried out either in a batch reactor or in a appears as side reaction product of fatty acid
continuous counter current reactive distillation esterification.
column filled with resin catalyst (5,6). In the
industrial batch process, fatty acid is reacted with
 Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 2(2-3), 2007, 27

2.4. Slurry process of high pressure fatty

acid hydrogenation Essentially, the process is not a direct
In 1931, Adkins, Norman, Schmidt and hydrogenation of a fatty acid. It is the
Schrauth simultaneously reported that copper hydrogenation of wax ester formed in the first
chromite (CuCr) catalyst can selectively reaction step.
hydrogenate carboxylic compound into their The slurry process flow diagram of the high
corresponding fatty alcohol (7,8,9,10). Fatty acid pressure fatty acid hydrogenation plant developed
can be directly hydrogenated with a CuCr by Lurgi (12) is shown in Figure 6. The process
catalyst at temperature up to 573 K and 200-300 involved handling the circulation of fatty alcohol/
atm to produce fatty alcohol. However, the CuCr catalyst slurry phase. The CuCr catalyst
catalyst is prone to attack by fatty acid to produce consumption is rather high up to 5 kg/ton of fatty
copper soap so that the catalyst consumption will alcohol produced partly because reaction of fatty
be high (11). acid with copper in the catalyst. Aldehyde,
To circumvent the fatty acid attack on the alkane, wax ester, di-alkyl ether, and copper soap
CuCr catalyst, Lurgi (12) has developed a are undesirably produced as side reaction
suspension process that re-circulates CuCr products from this process. Copper soap tends to
powder catalyst slurry covered in fatty alcohol precipitate as deposit in downstream piping and
into the high pressure hydrogenation reactor at process equipments. The hydrocarbon and the un-
553 K and 300 atm. The re-circulated fatty reacted wax ester content in the reactor outlet are
alcohol covering the CuCr catalyst powder first relatively high at 1 wt% and 3 wt% respectively.
reacts with fatty acid to produce wax ester in the The CuCr powder catalyst is prone to poisons,
first step. Afterward, the CuCr powder such as:
catalytically converts the wax ester into fatty • Sulfur form Cu-Sulfide which causes
alcohol in the second step. The reaction permanent catalyst deactivation (limit: 5
mechanism is as follows: ppm S)
• Chloride adsorption triggers sharp
permanent catalyst deactivation (limit: 2
ppm Cl)
• Phosphor adsorption causes soft catalyst
deactivation (limit: 1 ppm P)
• Highly polar components, such as: glycerol,
fatty acids, and monoglyceride, inhibit the
activity by blocking active site on catalyst
surface.

Figure 6. Lurgi Slurry Process High Pressure Fatty Acid Hydrogenation (12)
 Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 2(2-3), 2007, 28

high pressure dissolves into the liquid trickle

2.6 Fixed-bed process methyl ester high
phase, diffuses into the catalyst pores, and
pressure hydrogenation
arrives at catalyst active sites. The residence time
High pressure hydrogenation of methyl ester of the liquid phase in the fixed-bed reactor is 5
to fatty alcohol is usually preferable because minutes. After leaving the reactor, the reaction
CuCr catalyst is not sufficiently resistant to fatty product is cooled. Excess hydrogen is separated
acid. The hydrogenation of methyl ester is and recirculated back into the reactor. The
described in the following chemical reaction: catalyst consumption of fixed-bed methyl ester is
below 2 kg/ton of fatty alcohol, which is much
lower than the catalyst consumption in the slurry
process.
Undesirable impurities can be formed from
side reactions. Primary alcohols can de-
Since the methyl ester is relatively non-toxic hydrogenate to aldehydes and increase the
or mild to the CuCr catalyst, the fatty alcohol carbonyl value of products. Thermal process could
production by high pressure hydrogenation of dehydrate alcohols to hydrocarbon formation like
methyl ester can be carried out in a fixed-bed alkanes and initiate wax ester formation. Trace
reactor (13). There are several types of pelletized amount of fatty acids in the feed can leach copper
catalyst that can be used in high pressure from catalyst and form copper soaps. The
hydrogenation: hydrocarbon and the un-reacted methyl ester
• CuCr gives the best performance for content in the reactor outlet are typically at 0.5
saturated fatty alcohol with typical wt% and below 1 wt% respectively. The quality of
composition: 37% Cu, 32% Cr, 3% Mn crude fatty alcohol produced from the fixed-bed
• Copper zinc, example: 14%Cu/9%ZnO/SiO2 process is much better than slurry process, with a
(chrome free catalyst) lower hydrocarbon and lower un-reacted methyl
• Zinc chromite, has high selectivity to ester content.
produce unsaturated fatty alcohol without
attacking double bond in the methyl ester

Figure 7 shows process flow diagram of fixed-

bed hydrogenation at 200-300 atm and 453-573 K.
The methyl ester liquid is pumped, mixed with
pressurized hydrogen, and heated up by heat
interchange with reaction mixtures leaving the
reactor before entering the fixed-bed reactor filled
with CuCr catalyst. Inside the reactor, the liquid
methyl ester trickles down over CuCr catalyst
pellet, diffuses into the catalyst pores and
converts to fatty alcohol on the catalyst active
sites (see Figure 8). Similarly the hydrogen at Figure 8. Trickle Bed Catalyst

Figure 7. Methyl Ester High Pressure Hydrogenation Fixed-Bed Process

 Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 2(2-3), 2007, 29

Similar poisons found in the slurry process, through the nickel catalyst pellet in the fixed-bed
such as: sulfur, chloride, fatty acids, glycerol, and reactor. The reactor outlet is then passed through
monoglyceride, can seriously damage and a hydrogen knock-out drum separating the
deactivate the CuCr catalyst pellet. hydrogen from low carbonyl fatty alcohol. The
CuCr catalyst is manufactured using copper separated hydrogen is recycled back into the
solution as nitrate and chromic acid at 303 K. reactor.
CuNH4OHCrO4 will be precipitated under
bubbling of anhydrous ammonia until pH 6.8 (14). HYDROGEN
The precipitated catalyst is then filtered, dried,
and calcined at 723 K. After calcinations, it is HIGH CARBONYL
FATTY ALCOHOL
ready to be used as powder catalyst. To obtain the
catalyst in pellet form, the powder is extruded.
Hydrogenation is necessary to attain reduced
CuCr catalyst. CATALYST RECYCLE
HYDROGEN
2.6 Fatty alcohol polishing
Fatty alcohol polishing is required to remove
carbonyl-group compound existed in fatty alcohol
products. A polishing can also remove color-bodies LOW
CARBONYL
which usually consist of various saturated and FATTY
conjugated compounds. The color is removed by ALCOHOL

hydrogenation of those unsaturated. The removal Figure 9. Fatty Alcohol Polishing

of unsaturated helps to improve the storage
stability of the product. The effect of the
impurities is oxidation of the product and results Nickel based catalyst is manufactured by
more color or bad-smell. The bad-smell due to heating elemental nickel to 1173 K. Molten
oxidation is derived from cyclic ketones. aluminum is poured over the nickel shot, and
Beside the carbonyl value of fatty alcohol, the then the molten alloy is poured into a mold for
effect of polishing is also reflected in heat stability cooling and milled dry in a ball mill. The alloy is
test. Typically, a polishing is run at very activated by exposure to sodium hydroxide
moderate conditions, but uses a highly active solution at a pH of approximately 14. The
catalyst. They should be an extremely low level of temperature is maintained at 308 K or below and
poisons like sulfur. Together with the moderate the pH is not allowed to go below 11.5.
conditions this leads to a long catalyst life of up to
5 years. 3. Recent Technology in Basic Oleochemi-
The polishing process is occurred under 25 cals
atm at below 403 K in a fixed-bed reactor, with
3.1 Solid catalyst for vegetable oils trans-
the chemical reaction as follows:
esterification

As mentioned in Section 2.2, there are three

drawbacks of using homogeneous alkaline-based
Carbonyl value can be reduced from 200 to catalysts in transesterification experienced by
below 20 ppm as CO after polishing process. current biodiesel operators. First, the catalyst is
Nickel based catalyst characteristics used for practically impossible to be separated and
fatty alcohol polishing: recovered. Second, the catalyst reacts with FFA
• Typical composition : 52 % Ni, 33 % Al2O3, and water, therefore it limits the choice of
3 % SiO2 feedstock to refined oil with very low FFA and low
• Surface area : 215 m2/g water content. Third, the catalyst reacts with
Microfilter is usually used to avoid traces of feedstock to produce soap in glycerin-water,
catalyst fines leaving the polishing reactor. complicates treatments for separation of fatty
Traces of Ni (ppb-levels) can promote the matters from glycerin, and generates salt during
unwanted reactions during storage of the alcohol, glycerin purification. The salt will eventually
especially in the presence of air. accumulate in the glycerin pitch and complicate
Figure 9 shows process flow diagram of fatty the pitch disposal.
alcohol polishing. The high carbonyl fatty alcohol Several investigators have reported their
is mixed with hydrogen and trickled down endeavor to look for a suitable heterogeneous
 Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 2(2-3), 2007, 30

fatty alcohols in the process (21). The catalyst

catalyst for transesterification to produce methyl
used is similar as previous Lurgi methyl ester
ester from oil feedstock with high FFA (15).
hydrogenation process, CuCr. Half of fatty
Mixed metal oxide having the perovskite
alcohols generated are recycled to esterification
structure, such as calcium titanate, is one of the
section. Free fatty acid will be poisonous to
choices researched today (16). Phosphates of
hydrogenation catalyst because it will form
trivalent metals such as aluminium and ferric
copper soap. The side products of this route are
orthophosphates make suitable catalysts as well
copper soaps, aldehydes, alkenes, and wax ester.
(17). 12-Tungstophosporic acid (TPA)
impregnated on hydrous zirconia, silica, alumina,
4. Conclusion
or activated carbon was also evaluated (18). Some
researchers focus in utilization of alkaline earth This paper has reviewed the contribution of
metal hydroxides, oxides, and alkoxides to catalyst and catalysis science to economically
catalyze the transesterification (19). produce high quality basic oleochemicals.
Nevertheless, none of these heterogeneous Actually catalyst science also flourishes in the
catalysts give better performance than the production of other chemicals derived from basic
homogeneous catalyst. Therefore, research in this oleochemicals, such as: propylene glycol from
area is still challenging. glycerin (22), fatty amines from fatty acid and/or
fatty alcohol, ester quats from fatty acids and
3.2 Low pressure vapor phase hydrogena- alkyl polyglycosides from fatty alcohol. Catalyst
tion science plays an important role in the
Davy Process Technology offers alternative advancement of oleochemicals industry.
route to produce fatty alcohol from natural oil and
fats. The feed to hydrogenation should be in vapor Acknowledgment
phase. Davy route splits oil to fatty acid, This material is based upon work supported by
transesterifies the fatty acid to methyl ester using Dr. Jörg Schröter and Dr. Vera Haack of
methanol, and hydrogenates the methyl ester to Deutsche Hydrierwerke GmbH, Germany for
fatty alcohol (20). Esterification of fatty acids uses R&D laboratory equipment set up at Ecogreen
resin as catalyst in reaction column as explained Oleochemicals Batam and Mr. Usman Oemar of
earlier. The new breakthrough is hydrogenation National University of Singapore for contribution
of methyl ester at low pressure using fixed-bed in idea and references for the paper.
reactor with copper-zinc catalyst that is
conducted at 483 – 508 K and 40 atm. The References
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