| abstract |
The present invention relates to a process for the production of unsaturated and saturated free fatty acids. The process comprises the steps of: (a) selecting a starting material from the group consisting of trap oils, trap greases, yellow greases and brown greases, (b) pre-treating the oils and/or greases selected in step (a) in order to separate the oils and/or greases, from residual solids and water and obtain a mixture consisting principally o f saturated and unsaturated free fatty acids, (c) bleaching the mixture of fre e fatty acids obtained in step (b) in order to obtain a suitable coloration thereof, (d) fractionating the bleached free fatty acids obtained in step (c ) in two fractions: saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, (e) purifying the unsaturated fatty acids obtained from step (d), and purifying the saturated fatty acids obtained from step (d). |