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Production of biodieselRelated Patent Categories: Fuel And Related Compositions, Liquid Fuels (excluding Fuels That Are Exclusively Mixtures Of Liquid Hydrocarbons), Containing Organic -c(=o)o- Compound (e.g., Fatty Acids, Etc.)Production of biodiesel description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060225341, Production of biodiesel. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/655,458, filed Feb. 23, 2005, and Brazilian Patent Application No. 2004000005705, filed Dec. 20, 2004, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to a process for the production of biodiesel using soapstock. [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art [0005] Biodiesel is a clean burning alternative fuel, produced from domestic, renewable resources. Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable, and nontoxic. Biodiesel is comprised of mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids. These mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids have been derived from vegetable oils or animal fats. [0006] The processes used today to produce the methyl or ethyl esters of fatty acids start from animal or vegetable oils (triglycerides), an esteemed material that has better application in human and/or animal food. Accordingly, because of the importance of animal and vegetable oils as food, the use of animal and vegetable oils in the energy matrix as raw material for the manufacture of biodiesel results in an overall waste. [0007] Processes are available to use the fatty acids from soapstock, a residual by-product from the production of the edible oils and fats, to produce biodiesel. However, these processes produce a great quantity of residual acid-water due to the acidulation of the soapstock with sulfuric acid. The residual water is acidic, has high sodium sulfate content, and has a very high Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) because of the lecithin, gums, and other organic impurities present in the effluent water. The high cost of the treatment of the effluent water coming from the acidulation of the soapstock makes the process economically unviable. The treatment of this residual effluent is an extremely complicated problem from an environmental point of view. The problem is technically difficult to solve because of the water's high content of sodium sulfate and the high BOD resulting from the gums, lecithin, and other organic impurities. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0008] Accordingly, there exists a need to turn the production of biodiesel from refinery soapstock into a feasible process from an economic and environmentally adequate point of view. [0009] One embodiment provides a process for producing biodiesel comprising: saponifying a soapstock with an alkaline base in an alcohol to yield a saponified soapstock; filtering the solution of saponified soapstock to remove substantially insoluble organic material; adding a mineral acid to the filtered solution of saponified soapstock to form fatty acids and a mineral salt; and esterifying the fatty acids, thereby forming biodiesel. [0010] Another embodiment provides biodiesel obtained from a process comprising: saponifying a soapstock with an alkaline base in an alcohol to yield a saponified soapstock; filtering the solution of saponified soapstock to remove substantially insoluble organic material; adding a mineral acid to the filtered solution of saponified soapstock to form fatty acids and a mineral salt; and esterifying the fatty acids. [0011] Another embodiment provides sterols obtained from a process comprising: saponifying a soapstock with an alkaline base in an alcohol to yield a saponified soapstock; filtering the solution of saponified soapstock to remove substantially insoluble organic material; adding a mineral acid to the filtered solution of saponified soapstock to form fatty acids and a mineral salt; esterifying the fatty acids; removing insoluble impurities after the esterification; and distilling the solution of esters of fatty acids after esterification to obtain sterols. [0012] Another embodiment provides organic material obtained from a process comprising: saponifying a soapstock with an alkaline base in an alcohol to yield a saponified soapstock; and filtering the solution of saponified soapstock to obtain substantially insoluble organic material. [0013] Another embodiment provides mineral salts obtain from a process comprising: saponifying a soapstock with an alkaline base in an alcohol to yield a saponified soapstock; filtering the solution of saponified soapstock to remove substantially insoluble organic material; adding a mineral acid to the filtered solution of saponified soapstock to form fatty acids and a mineral salt; and separating the mineral salt from the solution. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT [0014] Preferred embodiments provide a process for the production of biodiesel utilizing soapstock as a starting material. Soapstock, as a refining oil byproduct, is an abundant, under-utilized, and inexpensive starting material. Advantageously, the preferred process to obtain biodiesel does not substantially use vegetable or animal oils as raw material, which could find better applications in animal and human food. Also, the preferred process is environmentally friendly, as the process does not generate large quantities of residual acid water. The preferred process also produces useful reagents, such as polypeptides, lecithin, sodium sulfate, and sterols. [0015] As used herein, biodiesel refers to mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids, preferably methyl or ethyl esters. Preferred biodiesel made from various starting materials with various processes can confirm to specifications. In the United States, the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM), a standard setting organization for fuels and fuel additives, defines biodiesel according to specifications. [0016] As used herein, soapstock refers to a refining oil byproduct. Soapstock comprises a cache of plant esters (sterols), glycerides (oils), phospholipids (lecithin), sodium soap. [0017] A preferred embodiment uses soapstock, a residual by-product from the production of edible oils and fats. While there are other processes available which also use the fatty acids from soapstock, in contrast to the preferred embodiments, these other processes produce a great quantity of residual acid-water due to the acidulation of the soapstock with sulfuric acid. Accordingly, there exists a need to turn the production of biodiesel from refinery soapstock into a feasible process from an economic and environmentally adequate point of view. [0018] The processes are based on the production of biodiesel from the soapstock of vegetable or animal oil refining. In one embodiment, the processes are preferably performed in an alcoholic medium, which results in the insolubility of byproducts. Consequently, certain problems of the prior art biodiesel productions, such as treatment of the residual water which is acidic, has high sodium sulfate content, and has high BOD, are bypassed. [0019] In one embodiment, a process for producing biodiesel is disclosed. The process comprises: saponifying a soapstock with an alkaline base in an alcohol to yield a saponified soapstock; filtering the solution of saponified soapstock to remove substantially insoluble organic material; adding a mineral acid to the filtered solution of saponified soapstock to form fatty acids and a mineral salt; and esterifying the fatty acids, thereby forming biodiesel. The process can further comprise neutralizing excess mineral acid after addition of the mineral acid to the filtered solution. The process can further comprise removing salts formed from the neutralization. The process can further comprise removing the alcohol after esterification. The process can further comprise removing insoluble impurities after esterification. The process can further comprise distilling the esters of fatty acids after esterification. [0020] In one embodiment, the process comprises the following steps: [0021] (A) Treating a refinery soapstock with a strong alkaline base in the presence of an alcohol. The saponification of the triglycerides present in the refinery soapstock can be achieved by treating the soapstock with a strong alkaline base. This treatment can be conducted under heating and alcohol reflux. Substantial triglycerides present are saponified by the strong alkaline base. [0022] (B) After finishing the reaction described in (A), the product is filtered to remove substantially insoluble organic material. This organic material comprises polypeptides and lecithin and can be used as an emulsifying agent in industrial applications or as an additive to animal feed. [0023] (C) A strong mineral acid is then added to the alcoholic solution. The mixture is then heated to around the boiling point of the alcohol and refluxed. Fatty acids can form from the respective soaps. [0024] (D) In the reaction described above, a mineral salt can form between the strong alkaline base component of the soap and the strong mineral acid. The salt is not soluble or sparingly soluble in an alcoholic medium, where the process is conducted. Accordingly, filtration and removal of the salt from the reactive medium is easy to perform. Generally, the filtered salt is a technical grade and can be sold for industrial applications. [0025] (E) After filtering the salt, the material is heated under reflux for esterification of the free fatty acids with the alcohol already being used. [0026] (F) After esterification, a certain quantity of base is added to neutralize the excess mineral acid in the alcoholic solution. [0027] (G) After neutralization, the solution is filtered again to remove the salts formed during the neutralization. [0028] (H) The clear solution of esters in alcohol is ready for the removal of the excess of alcohol. This removal can be done by distillation of the alcohol. [0029] (J) After recovering the excess alcohol, insoluble impurities are removed from the esters. [0030] (K) The ester obtained after removal of insoluble impurities is then distilled for purification resulting in biodiesel. Continue reading about Production of biodiesel... Full patent description for Production of biodiesel Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Production of biodiesel patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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