204
R. Tesser et al.
Increasing energy use, climate change and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from
fossil fuels make switching to low-carbon fuels a high priority. Biofuels are a potential
low-carbon energy source, but whether biofuels offer carbon savings depends on
how they are produced. Converting rainforests, peatlands, savannas or grasslands
to produce food-crop-based biofuels in Brazil, Southeast Asia and the United States
creates a ‘biofuel carbon debt’ by releasing 17 to 420 times more CO 2 than the annual
greenhouse gases (GHG) reductions that these biofuels would provide by displacing
fossil fuels. In contrast, biofuels made from waste biomass or from biomass grown on
degraded and abandoned agricultural lands planted with perennials incur little or no
carbon debt and can offer immediate and sustained GHG advantages [63]. Production
of vegetable oil is generally considered environmentally unsustainable, due in part
to deforestation associated with establishing new palm and soy oil plantations and
the long time required to repay the carbon debt associated with the establishing new
oil crops [63].
Plant oils are the major feedstock for oleochemical production. As a consequence
of growing oleochemical demand, production of plant oils has steadily increased
(up 14% from 148.96 Mt in 2010–11 to 169.56 Mt in 2013–14) and is expected to
increase further (up 28% by 2023 relative to the 2011–2013 average). Usage of plant
oils can be divided into three categories: food, biodiesel and oleochemicals. Of the
157 Mt of plant oil consumed in 2012–13, 77% were used for production of food,
12% were used for production of biodiesel and the remaining 11% for production of
oleochemicals [152, 153].
A tremendous geographical and feedstock shift of oleochemical production has
taken place from North America and Europe to Southeast Asia and from tallow to
palm oil. It will be important to introduce and to cultivate more and new oil plants
containing fatty acids with interesting and desired properties for chemical utilization
while simultaneously increasing the agricultural biodiversity. The problem of the
industrial utilization of food plant oils has become more urgent with the development
of the global biodiesel production. The remarkable advances made during the past
decade in organic synthesis, catalysis and biotechnology using plant oils and the
basic oleochemicals derived from them will be reported, including, for example,
w-functionalization of fatty acids containing internal double bonds, application of
the olefin metathesis reaction and de novo synthesis of fatty acids from abundantly
available renewable carbon sources [25].
Oils and fats of vegetable and animal origin are historically and currently the
most important renewable feedstock of the chemical industry. Oleochemical transformations occur preferentially at the ester functionality of the native triglycerides,
such as hydrolysis to free fatty acids and glycerol and transesterification to fatty acid
methyl esters. Fatty acids are transformed by reactions at the carboxy group to soaps,
esters, amides or amines. Hydrogenation of both fatty acids and their methyl esters
gives fatty alcohols, which are used for the production of surfactants. Competitive
petrochemical processes to produce fatty alcohols, such as the Ziegler Alfol process
and hydroformylation of alkenes, exist, but the share of fatty alcohols from renewable resources is steadily increasing, from about 50% in 2000 to just under 65% in
2010 [25].
R. Tesser et al.
Increasing energy use, climate change and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from
fossil fuels make switching to low-carbon fuels a high priority. Biofuels are a potential
low-carbon energy source, but whether biofuels offer carbon savings depends on
how they are produced. Converting rainforests, peatlands, savannas or grasslands
to produce food-crop-based biofuels in Brazil, Southeast Asia and the United States
creates a ‘biofuel carbon debt’ by releasing 17 to 420 times more CO 2 than the annual
greenhouse gases (GHG) reductions that these biofuels would provide by displacing
fossil fuels. In contrast, biofuels made from waste biomass or from biomass grown on
degraded and abandoned agricultural lands planted with perennials incur little or no
carbon debt and can offer immediate and sustained GHG advantages [63]. Production
of vegetable oil is generally considered environmentally unsustainable, due in part
to deforestation associated with establishing new palm and soy oil plantations and
the long time required to repay the carbon debt associated with the establishing new
oil crops [63].
Plant oils are the major feedstock for oleochemical production. As a consequence
of growing oleochemical demand, production of plant oils has steadily increased
(up 14% from 148.96 Mt in 2010–11 to 169.56 Mt in 2013–14) and is expected to
increase further (up 28% by 2023 relative to the 2011–2013 average). Usage of plant
oils can be divided into three categories: food, biodiesel and oleochemicals. Of the
157 Mt of plant oil consumed in 2012–13, 77% were used for production of food,
12% were used for production of biodiesel and the remaining 11% for production of
oleochemicals [152, 153].
A tremendous geographical and feedstock shift of oleochemical production has
taken place from North America and Europe to Southeast Asia and from tallow to
palm oil. It will be important to introduce and to cultivate more and new oil plants
containing fatty acids with interesting and desired properties for chemical utilization
while simultaneously increasing the agricultural biodiversity. The problem of the
industrial utilization of food plant oils has become more urgent with the development
of the global biodiesel production. The remarkable advances made during the past
decade in organic synthesis, catalysis and biotechnology using plant oils and the
basic oleochemicals derived from them will be reported, including, for example,
w-functionalization of fatty acids containing internal double bonds, application of
the olefin metathesis reaction and de novo synthesis of fatty acids from abundantly
available renewable carbon sources [25].
Oils and fats of vegetable and animal origin are historically and currently the
most important renewable feedstock of the chemical industry. Oleochemical transformations occur preferentially at the ester functionality of the native triglycerides,
such as hydrolysis to free fatty acids and glycerol and transesterification to fatty acid
methyl esters. Fatty acids are transformed by reactions at the carboxy group to soaps,
esters, amides or amines. Hydrogenation of both fatty acids and their methyl esters
gives fatty alcohols, which are used for the production of surfactants. Competitive
petrochemical processes to produce fatty alcohols, such as the Ziegler Alfol process
and hydroformylation of alkenes, exist, but the share of fatty alcohols from renewable resources is steadily increasing, from about 50% in 2000 to just under 65% in
2010 [25].