16 December 2024
The conversion plant was validated by A&A Fratelli Parodi through five production runs of 2-ethylhexyl palmitate using conventional raw materials to confirm process reproducibility and stability. Following validation, recovered lipid feedstocks supplied by the recovery unit installed at AQP will be employed to replicate the same process under real operating conditions.
As previously described, the optimized process flow includes the esterification of fatty acids with 2-ethylhexanol, followed by evaporation of the unreacted alcohol and a deodorization stage to remove residual alcohols and low-molecular-weight volatiles. The resulting crude ester is then refined through molecular distillation to separate heavier fractions—approximately 25% of the crude weight—originating from the initial feedstock. This purification ensures that the final biolubricant bases meet the desired quality and performance specifications for subsequent formulation and application testing.
