Fatty acid composition, its production and use

Abstract

The present invention relates to a fatty acid composition which contains an effective amount of fatty acids providing improved low temperature stability of the composition. The present invention also relates to a process for producing a fatty acid composition wherein the process comprises the steps of selecting a crude tall oil having a fatty acid concentration and type capabld of providing low temperature stability, distilling said crude tall oil to provide a fatty acid composition containing an effective amount of tall oil fatty acids providing low temperature stability. The fatty acid composition of the present invention is used as a fuel additive.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a fatty acid composition and to a process for production thereof, and to the use thereof. The fatty acid composition has excellent lubricity performance and good low temperature stability and it is used e.g. as a fuel additive in various types of fuel. Its low temperature properties make it useful also for other uses, such as ore flotation compositions and surfactant compositions. The present invention also relates to a fuel additive and a fuel having good low temperature properties. The preferred fatty acid composition is derived from tall oil. BACKGROUND [0002] Crude tall oil is recovered from black liquors produced in the kraft pulping process. The composition of crude tall oil is not constant, it varies depending on factors such as cooking, washing, skimming, storage and most of all, the source of wood chips used in the pulping. The tall oil fatty acids are contained in the black liquor in the form of soaps. When the soaps are acidified fr...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0015] The present invention relates to a fatty acid composition which fatty acid composition provides low temperature stability to the product that it is added to. The fatty acid composition is preferably used as a fuel additive since it also provides excellent lubricating properties and thus improves the over-all performance of the formulated fuel. As a lubricity improver the composition prevents wear on engines. A parameter which indicates the low temperature stability is the temperature at which the cloud point occurs. The fatty acid composition according to the present invention has a low cloud point. The low temperature properties of the fatty acid composition of the present invention may also be utilized in ore flotation techniques and surfactant compositions.

[0017] A fatty acid composition of the present invention contains an effective amount of fatty acids providing improved low temperature stability of the composition. The fatty acids are obtained from tall oil, vegetable fatty acids and / or animal fatty acids.

[0048] The cloud point of the tall oil fatty acid composition according to the present invention is low and in a preferred embodiment it is lower than for fatty acid compositions previously known. The cloud point of the fatty acid composition according to the present invention is well below the freezing point of water. In order to be effective, it should be below −4° C. and preferably lower. In a preferred embodiment the cloud point is below −6° C., preferably below −9° C. With the composition of the present invention it is possible to provide a cloud point which is lower than −10° C., preferably lower than −15° C., more preferably lower than −20° C.

[0049] The present invention also relates to a process for producing a fatty acid composition comprising fatty acids. The process comprises the steps of selecting a crude tall oil having a fatty acid concentration and type, capable of providing low temperature stability for the process and distilling the crude tall oil to provide the desired fatty acid composition containing an effective amount of fatty acids to provide low temperature stability. The specific fatty acid distribution provides good low temperature properties to the composition.

[0051] The fatty acid composition according to the present invention with improved low temperature performance is produced by the use of raw material selection. The crude tall oil which is used in the process of the present invention is selected based on its fatty acid concentration and type to provide a desired fatty acid composition. It is possible fairly accurately to predict the fatty acid distribution of the distilled tall oil fatty acid composition based on the initial fatty acid concentration and type of the crude tall oil since only minor changes occur during the distillation. Selection of crude tall oil may also include blending of different crude tall oils to provide a desired raw material. In a preferred process of the present invention the crude tall oil is derived from trees grown in a cold climate.

[0053] The selected crude tall oil is then distilled using a conventional tall oil distilling procedure in order to obtain a fatty acid composition with a specific fatty acid distribution which provides improved low temperature properties.

Problems solved by technology

The removal of sulfur compounds at the refinery has resulted in the lubricating properties of the fuel being reduced.

This in turn has caused increased wear on engine components.

During the wintertime insufficient low temperature stability of the fuel causes problems in cold climates.

Despite the use it has been difficult to find fuel additives which improve lubricating properties and having a sufficient low temperature stability.

The consequence of poor low temperature stability in use is the fuel additive separates from the fuel during storage.

This may cause plugging resulting in blocking of filters and uneven dosing of the fuel.

On the other hand a high amount of additives or many different types of additives in a fuel may cause problems as well.