US1079437A - Process for hydrolyzing fats and fatty oils into glycerin and fatty acids. - Google Patents

Description

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GBIGORI PETROFF, 0F NOVO GIREEVO, RUSSIA.

PROCESS FOR HYDROLYZING FATS AND FATTY OILS INTO GLYCERIN AND FATTY ACIDS.

No Drawing.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 5, 1912. Serial No. 707,753.

Patented Nov. 25, 1913.

To (1 whom, it may concern 130 it known that I, (llncoiu Pn'rnorr, a subject of the Czar of Russia, and residing at Novo (lireevo, l\T.oscou-Nizhni Railway Line, Eleninsky Prospect, Dom. Troitzky- Kusminoy, Russia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Process for Ilydrolyzing Fats and Fatty Oils into Glycerin and Fatty Acids, of whichthc following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved process for the hydrolytic decomposition of fats and fatty acids into glycerin and fatty acids.

The improved process consists in using for this purpose the organic sulfonic acids obtained from mineral oils, such as crude petroleum or its distillates. These sulfonic acids possess as splitting agents great advantages over the agents hitherto ordinarily employed in the art for the hydrolysis of fats.

It has been known for a long time that organic sulfonic acids are formed by the action of concentrated sulfuric acid or sulfuric acid anhydrid upon crude petroleum, the distillates thereof or the like. These sulfonic acids may be separated out from the sulfonation products in various ways, and be obtained in a more or less pure form. For instance, the sulfonated naphtha hydrocarbons may be washed with an aqueous lye after the deposition of the precipitated acid tar layer (Goudron layer), as is usually done for instance in refining naphtha distillates. In this operation the sulfonic acids pass over in the form of salts into the aqueous solution from which the hydrocarbons which are carried over with them are removed by means of benzin, benzol or other solvents. The solution thus purified is decomposed by means of an excess of concentrated sulfuric acid. In this operation the sulfonic acids are separated out in the form of a thick layer which contains only some water and sulfuric acid. In this form the acids can be employed for splitting the fats. If such commercially pure sulfonic acids are digested with ether or benzoh only the sulfonic acids will become dissolved therein which have remained behind in a chemically pure state after the removal of the solvents. Such pure sulfonic acids form a solid or semisolid resin-like hygroscopic mass, according to the properties of the initial material and also according to the degree of sulfonation. Said mass contains a mixture of various sulfonic acids of cyclic hydrocarbons which latter have a very high molecular weight. I have now discovcred that aqueous solutions of such sulfonic acids have a distinctly pronounced property of splitting fats into glycerin and fatty acids, and that for this purpose very small amounts (0.5 to 1.0%), of such splitting agent are sufficient. The splitting action and the speed of reaction increasewith increase in the temperature and with the molecular weight of the sulfonic acids. The splitting action is also favored and accelerated by the presence of small quantities of some mineral acids.

The followingexample may be given of a preferred manner ofcarrying out the present process. 40 parts by weight of water, 0.25 parts of concentrated sulfuric acid, 0.75 parts of the above mentioned sulfonic acids, and 100 parts of melted fat or oil are poured in succession into a wooden or lead-lined iron vessel provided with a pipe for admitting steam or water vapor. By admitting steam the mixture is caused to boil and is kept boiling continuously for some hours. With the stated proportions by weight, more than 90% of the glycerids are split up' after a lapse of 5 to 10 hours. The boiling is then stopped and the fatty acids are allowed to separate out from the glycerin water and further treated in the usual manner for the production of stearin or soap. The sulfonie acids employed for splitting remain in solution in the glycerin water. The latter is neutralized with lime or barium hydroxid. The precipitate is separated by filtration, and the filtrate is treated in the usual manner for the recovery of glycerin. The precipitate is treated with sulfuric acid for the recovery of the sul fonic acids which can then be used over again as hydrolyzing agents as above described.

The use of sulfonic acids for splitting fats has very many advantages over the Wellknown agents, for example, the aromatic sulfonic fatty acids, employed in the Twitchell process, which are produced by the action of sulfuric acid upon a mixture of non-saturated aliphatic acids with aromatic hydrocarbons. The sulfonic acids which are separated out from sulfonated naphtha-hydrocarbons, possess a greater splitting power, so that by their use the duration of the reaction and also the quantity of the-splittin vagent can be considerably diminished. T e resulting fatty acids are much 1i hter than those obtainable by the Twitchel process. Further, the splitting agentaccording to this invention can be regenerated or recovered after each operation,

so tha'ta comparatively very small uantity is suflicient for the decomposition o a considerable amount of fat.

Claims. 1. A process for splitting fats and oils into glycerin and fatty acids, which consists in using as splitting agents the sulfonic acids which are formed and isolated in the sists in mixing the fat or oil with the necessary (buantity of sulfonic acids of mineral oil h rocarbons and eifecting hydrolysis of the at or oil in the an acid medium.

3. A process for splitting fats and oils into glycerin and fatty acids which consists in mixing the fat or oil with the necessary quantity, of sulfonic acids of mineral oil hydrocarbons and efi'ecting hydrolysis of the fator oil in the presence of water in an acid medium with agitation of the mixture by steam or air.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

GRIGORI PETROFF.

presence of water in Witnesses:

LYDIA RoLL, CHR. EUFURT.