Fatty acid methyl esters production: chemical process variables

The advantages of fatty acid methyl esters as basic oleochemicals over fatty acids, the seventies world energy crisis and the use of those oleochemicals as fuels, have increased research interests on fats and oils trans-esterification. In this document, a review about basic aspects, uses, process variables and problems associated to the production process of fatty acid methyl esters is presented. A global view of recent researches, most of them focused in finding a new catalyst with same activity as the alcohol-soluble hydroxides (NaOH, KOH), and suitable to be used in transforming fats and oils with high levels of free fatty acids and water, avoiding separation problems and reducing process costs, is also discussed.