Oleo chemicals

CO4: Learning Outcome

 Identify and list the main raw materials and
steps in the production of petrochemicals and
oleochemicals
What are oleochemicals?
 Oleochemicals are chemicals derived from
plant and animal fats.
Types of feedstocks
Global vegetable oil production
 History
 We used to depend on petrochemicals
 In late 1970s, crude oil price hiked.
 Switched to oleochemicals because the production
process were cheaper
 Oil palms gained attention because plant-based
lauric oils processed from palm kernel were
cheaper.
 Since then, palm kernel oil (from palm fruit) were
used in the production of laundry detergent and
personal care items like toothpaste, soap bars,
shower cream and shampoo.
More History
What are oleochemicals?
 Oleochemicals are chemicals derived from
plant and animal fats.

 Common basic oleochemical substances are

fatty acids, fatty acid methyl esters (FAME),
fatty alcohols, fatty amines and glycerols.

 Derived by various chemical and enzymatic

reactions of PO and PKO
How are PO and PKO produced?
 Oil palm fruit
 The oil palm fruit produces two types of oil,
palm oil from the mesocarp and palm kernel oil
from the nut, the endosperm.
 They are chemically different and have
between them practically the entire range of
long, medium and short chain fatty acids.
Intro on palm plantation
 edupalm.org.my
PO and PKO Supply Chain
Oleo chemicals
Oleochemicals – redefined?
 Oleochemicals refer to chemicals obtained from
palm oil and palm kernel oil; Divided into two groups
of products, basic oleochemicals and
oleochemical derivatives.
 Basic oleochemicals are fatty acids, methyl esters,
fatty alcohols, fatty amines and glycerol. They are
essentially the building blocks of the oleochemicals
industry. From these basic oleochemicals, a very
wide range of oleochemical derivatives can be
produced.
 Since palm oil and palm kermel oil contain between
them almost the entire range of fatty
acids, practically all the oleochemicals can be
produced from them.
Oleochemicals Application
Oleochemicals Application
Oleochemicals Application
Summary
This is a flow chart leading from palm oil to basic oleochemicals & their
derivatives .
 Examples
of Industrial
Oleochemicals
Applications
 Margarine
 Margarine is one of the most publicly known oleochemical
products. Indeed, vegetable oils used for its preparation are
naturally found in liquid form. One can think of soybean or
canola oil commonly found in grocery stores. Then, why is it that
margarine has a more solid consistency? This is due to the
chemical transformation of the oils used in its preparation. In
order to give a solid texture to oil, it goes through a
hydrogenation process which consists in transforming the
chemical bonds of the oil to give its liquid properties to the point
where we are left with a solid consistency. It is very important to
know about these chemical and control processes as an improper
process can lead to the formation of trans fatty acid, well-known
to cause long-term health problems.
 Neutral pH soaps
 Soap is the pioneer oleochemical product. Originally, alkaline ashes
were mixed with animal fat in order to make soaps which we still
find mainly in our everyday products. Obviously, the chemical
transformation processes are much more sophisticated and are
better controlled than before. However, soaps are products with
alkaline properties. The surfactant effect (i.e. which fosters the
contact between water and organic residues) of soap is in fact
based on the presence of a chemical function which is also
responsible for the product's alkalinity. Modern oil chemists have
been able to develop oleochemical derivatives from the same oils,
but with very different chemical functions. These products are now
found on the market as neutral pH surfactants and their properties
are used in a wide variety of household products. The advantage of
a neutral pH is that the product is less irritating to the skin
(alkalinity) and is unlikely to react with other components or
additives that could enter into the composition of the product
(chemical incompatibility).
 Biodiesel
 Vegetable oils were used as fuel in the very first trials to test Rudolph
Diesel's engine which now bears his name. Over time, several changes
were made to his invention and the diesel engine has been modified to
use a more effective petroleum-based product, fuel oil. Today,
environmental knowledge and concerns, such as global warming, are
encouraging us to reconsider the use of alternative fuels products issued
from biomass. Vegetable oil is no longer an acceptable fuel for use in
modern diesel engines as it is too viscous and too heavy. However, oil
chemists have developed a way to modify the properties of vegetable oil
to make a comparable fuel oil. By using «transesterification» of vegetable
oils with methanol or ethanol, we obtain methyl esters which are lighter
and less viscous. These synthetic derivatives of vegetable oil exhibit
acceptable properties for use in diesel engines. The mixture of quality
methyl esters, which can be substituted to fuel oil, is called «biodiesel».
 Applications
 While oleochemical applications in the food, pharmaceutical and
cosmetics sectors are more well-known by the public in general,
industrial applications represent more than 50% of the world's
production volume. The different sectors of industrial
oleochemistry are:
 Mechanical fluids: lubricants, greases, hydraulic fluids, and coolants
 Coating and adhesives: paints, varnishes, glues, paving
 Materials: plastics, rubber, linoleum
 Tensioactive agents: detergents, surfactants, soaps
 Impregnation agents: waxes, inks, softening agents, wood
treatments
 Fuels: biodiesel, oils, candle wax
 Chemical intermediates: solvents, chemicals, additives
 Cosmeceutical and pharmaceutical
 Nutraceutical
Final applications
Global Issues
Issue 1: Raw materials availability
 The European oleochemical industry is under threat. An
unintended threat of the current EU Renewable energy
policy has lead to an unprecedented increase in glycerine
production and to a significant threat to the availability of
animal fats as raw material for the European oleochemical
industry
 Due to their classification as biomass, animal fats and
vegetable oils are increasingly burned or used in Biofuel
production to access “ credits” under the Emission Trading
Schemes or incentives intended to promote biofuels or
renewable energy
 Biodiesel Biodiesel/Glycerine /Glycerine: the production of
methyl esters from vegetable oils & fats for use as biodiesel has
increased doubled the production of glycerine – by-product in the
production of oleochemicals – 300 000 T of subsidised glycerine
has appeared on the market and we expect this to reach 500 000 T
before 2010.
 Glycerine prices dropped from 1.500 Euro/mt to below 500
Euro/mt
 This has decreased the income of the European Oleochemical
industry by 300 Mio/year
 Industry could only react by rationalising, closures, 1000 people
lost their jobs.
 Historically, the European Oleochemical industry has always
been a net importer of animal fats mainly from North
America and Canada. Imports of animal fats into Europe
stopped when the BSE crisis materialised and the exporting
countries did not wish to remove the Specific risk materials
from the raw materials. Europe is too small a market for the
major exporting countries such as USA.
 Animal fats cover more than 50 % of the raw material
requirements in the European Oleochemical Industry AND
ENABLES the European industry to compete with Asia
producers sourcing their raw materials from tropical oils
 Subsidised burning of animal fats will disrupt completely the
supply/demand balance and the European Oleochemical
Industry, using the animal fats in an unsubsidised way, will
find itself without its main raw material at competitive
pricing. Furthermore, if all available European animal fats
would be used in the production of energy, it would only be
sufficient to supply one medium sized power plant generating
1.000 megawatt per year.
Impact:
 Only by importing palm oil from South East Asia, would the
European Oleochemical industry have enough raw materials
to maintain its production level and maintain its supply
position to the European Industry as a whole.
 This position is unfavourable because South East Asian
producers , with a rapidly increasing oleochemical industry,
have access to raw materials at the cheaper price (export
duty 15% for European importers) ; This measure subsidises
the exports of their oleochemical derivatives and causes a
distortion of competition for the European Oleochemical
Industry.
 As a consequence, European Oleochemical Industry will be
forced either to close down their operations in Europe or
move its production facilities to the SEA region. A first
impact will be the loss of 10.000 jobs in Europe and the
departure to the SEA of more industries from Europe
causing further job losses and putting in danger the supply of
critical products in highly specialised branches of the
European Industry.
What EU wants?
 The European oleochemical industry wishes to secure the
availability of animal fats as competitive feedstock for the
European Oleochemical Industry. To achieve this, animal fats
should be taken out of the EU definition of biomass and/or
no tax incentives should be given for the use of animal fats in
the generation of green electricity, heat or production of
Biodiesel.
What SEA wants?
 In addition, we request that animal fats remain in the waste
regime as currently required by the animal by-products
legislation and the waste framework directive. Consequently
, burning of animal fats should only take place in facilities that
comply with waste incineration directive.
Thank you