French Institute for Fats and Oils
For several years, Iterg has been looking at the industrial recovery of by-products from oil-producing plants and, in particular, spent earth (winterisation and bleaching earth). This research work has led to the filing of a French patent [1].
The work is geared towards two industrial applications:
abrasive aqueous soaps (from spent winterisation earth),
industrial lubricants formed using aqueous or dry (insoluble in water) soaps from spent winterisation or bleaching earth.
Contact: Carine Alfos
- Dewaxing earth: abrasive soaps
One very important category of abrasive soaps is cleaning soap for mechanics. These soaps come in the form of a smooth paste and must be capable of easily removing all kinds of dirt (oil, grease, coom, tar, etc.).
This idea of recovery comes from the composition of sunflower-oil dewaxing earth itself. The fat retained by the earth can be saponified to produce soaps that have the detergent properties required. Solid mineral particles, used as filtering additives during the dewaxing phase, play the role of abrasive agents and the sunflower waxes provide moisturising and softening qualities for hand care.
The soaps obtained in Iterg’s pilot workshop present satisfactory detergent qualities when tested on stubborn dirt. Their appearance and low level of alkalinity make them similar to the commercially-distributed abrasive soap ARMA. Moreover, a quick cost study has shown that the final cost of this soap is between 10 and 100 times less than soaps produced using current spent-earth recovery methods (biomethanation and incineration).
- Spent dewaxing and bleaching earths: industrial lubricants
In the context of a study funded by the ADEME (French agency for the environment and energy control) since 2002, Iterg has examined the possibility of recovering spent earth as a raw material for the manufacture of industrial lubricants based on dry metallic soaps or aqueous soaps.
Two industrial applications are under study:
the first application uses aqueous soaps produced using spent bleaching earth (industrial trials performed on over 40 tonnes of product enabled the process to be validated technically and the industrial launch to be scheduled for 2004),
the second application uses dry metallic soaps produced using spent winterisation earth. Positive application results were obtained for certain samples but the repeatability and consistency of the composition of the finished product still needs improving before plans can be made to launch an industrial validation process.
[1] French patent No. 00 05085, filed on 20 April 2000: "Composition récurante du type savon abrasif et procédé de production d’une telle composition"
