earticle

영어

Waste glycerol, by-product from biodiesel production process, contains high amount of fatty acids (20 % of waste glycerol). Although fatty acids, particularly, unsaturated fatty acids have been widely used in the field of food and pharmaceutical preparation, fatty acids derived from waste glycerol cannot be used directly without treatment due to its dark color. Urea-addition crystallization and a high liquid chromatography were reported for purifying the fatty acids. However, the decolorization of fatty acid has not been reported. Here, we aimed to remove the colored materials in fatty acids obtained from waste glycerol. Effects of temperature, reaction time, the amount of adsorbent (kaoline) and initial fatty acid color were investigated. Temperature and reaction time almost have no effect on the decolorization. Central composite design was applied to optimize the content of kaoline and initial fatty acid color. By statistical analysis, we found the optimal condition, at which colored materials were completely removed and thus clean fatty acid was obtained with no loss of fatty acid.