Fractionation of tallow fatty acids. Preparation of purified oleic acid and an inedible olive oil substitute

Summary Tallow fatty acids have been fractionally crystallized from acetone at temperatures ranging from 0° to −60° C. By crystallizing at 0° to −20° C., a saturated acid fraction which amounts to 40 to 50% by weight of the starting material has been obtained. This fraction corresponds to “double- or triple-pressed stearic acid.” The filtrate acids from the crystallization at −20° C. contain over 90% of the oleic acid present in the starting material, and in fatty acid composition this mixture is similar to olive oil. From this fraction. which amounts to about 50% by weight of the starting material, a synthetic triglyceride with, properties approximating those of olive oil has been prepared. By low-temperature crystallization of this oleic-acid-rich fraction at −50° to −60° C., followed by fractional distillation, a good yield of purified oleic acid (oleic acid content, over 95%) has been obtained. One of the laboratories of the Bureau of Agricultural and Industrial Chemistry, Agricultural Research Administration, United States Department of Agriculture.