Fatty acids from Fauth.

Fatty acids such as oleic acid and stearic acid are unsaturated or saturated monocarboxylic acids with unbranched, even-numbered carbon chains and are obtained by cleavage by means of the pressurised water hydrolysis of natural, mostly vegetable oils and fats. The colourless and almost odourless oleic acid or “olein” is the most important representative in the case of monounsaturated fatty acids. It is produced today from sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil or tallow. The hydrolysis usually follows a crystallisation to increase the olein content in the fatty acid mixture. In comparison with polyunsaturated fatty acids, oleic acid, as well as its esters, is well resistant to oxidation. Its melting point is 17 °C, but higher than that of polyunsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic or linolenic acid.

Stearic acid or “stearin” can be produced very pure as a saturated fatty acid by distillation, usually via the intermediate methyl ester. In many applications, however, mixtures are used, primarily with palmitic acid. Fauth offers several finely tuned combinations of these two most important saturated fatty acids for its numerous uses in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and chemical-technical fields. Special food grades are available for use in the food industry; stearic acid is approved in the EU as a food additive under E 570, “fatty acids”. Saturated fatty acids are the preferred starting material for the production of detergents. Stearic acid, and sometimes also palmitic acid, is ideal as a raw material for candles, either as an alternative to paraffin or in admixture with it, whereby certain properties, such as a defined shrinkage or a well-defined burning time can be achieved. Since stearin is based on natural, renewable raw materials, it has an excellent CO2 balance.