Natural fatty alcohol
Oxylation or oil hydrogenolysis
Manufacture of synthetic detergents, cosmetics, medicines, etc.
RCOOH+2H2─→RCH2OH+H2O
Product Characteristics
Aliphatic alcohol refers to the alcohols in which the hydroxyl group is connected to the aliphatic hydrocarbon group. It is usually called low-carbon fatty alcohol or lower alcohol containing 1-2 carbon atoms; medium-carbon fatty alcohol or intermediate alcohol with 3-5 carbon atoms; high-carbon fatty alcohol or alcohol with more than 6 carbon atoms higher alcohols. The more important ones are n-heptanol, n-octanol, n-nonanol, n-decyl alcohol, cetyl alcohol, etc.
Main Use
Used in the manufacture of synthetic detergents, cosmetics, medicines, etc. It is also used as an additive for lubricating oils and as an antistatic agent for textiles. It is produced industrially by oxo synthesis or oil hydrogenolysis.
Functional Characteristics
Fatty alcohols are obtained by high-pressure hydrogenation of animal and vegetable fats and oils. In industry, raw oils and fats are converted into fatty acids by pretreatment and alcoholysis (ie, transesterification), and then hydrogenated. Fatty acids can also be directly hydrogenated or hydrogenated after esterification to produce alcohols. The direct hydrogenation of fatty acids to fatty alcohols requires high equipment materials.
Development Process
Fatty alcohol was first produced from spermaceti, and the resulting mixed fatty alcohol became sulfate after sulfonation and neutralization, which is the earliest anionic detergent. Later, coconut oil, palm oil and tallow with rich sources were developed and utilized as raw materials. The fatty acids obtained by hydrolysis are then reduced to alcohols. Collectively referred to as natural fatty alcohols. After the development of the petrochemical industry, the fatty alcohols produced from petroleum products as raw materials are called synthetic fatty alcohols.