Endpoint Details

Production/Process Information
Category Chemical:	(61790-12-3) Fatty acids, tall-oil
Test Substance:	(61790-12-3) Fatty acids, tall-oil
Test Substance Purity/Composition and Other Test Substance Comments:	All the members of this category are similar in chemical composition, being predominantly C18 unsaturated and saturated fatty acids, or their salts. As complex mixtures derived from a natural product, all of the members of this category are considered to be Class 2 substances. This description of Production/Process Information applies to all of the substances in this category.
Reference:	Final Submission for Tall Oil Fatty Acids and Related Substances Zinkel, D.F. and Russell, J., Eds. 1989. Naval Stores. Production, Chemistry, Utilization. Pulp Chemicals Association, New York.
Description:	During the process of pulping coniferous trees to make paper, sodium salts of chemicals occurring naturally in the trees are produced as a co-product. When acidulated, this soap becomes Tall Oil. Typically, Tall Oil is a mixture of 25-35% rosin acids and 45-55% fatty acids with the balance being neutral compounds. Tall oil can be further processed or separated into its major components (i.e., rosin acids or fatty acids) by a process of high temperature low pressure distillation. Fatty acids are present in the pine tree as glycerol esters and are saponified to sodium salts during the pulping process. These sodium salts are the major component of tall oil soap that is skimmed from spent pulping liquor and acidulated to form crude tall oil. Crude tall oil is then fractionally distilled at high temperatures under vacuum to yield several fractions, two of which are included in this category: TOFA (CAS# 61790-12-3) and fatty acids, tall oil, low boiling (CAS# 65997-03-7). The remaining members of this group are all derived from TOFA. With respect to the Class 2 substances that comprise this category, it is important to understand that each species of pine tree has a somewhat different mix of fatty acids. Even within a species, the mix of fatty acids may be influenced by the climate and local terrain. Consequently, product specifications for these substances are not given in terms of chemical components, but in general terms such as acid number and iodine value, which are measures of aggregate chemical reactivity. Depending on the specific category substance, the compositions of the six substances in this category typically consist of different proportions of palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, conjugated linoleic acid, other acids, branched C18 acids, other C18 acids, elaidic acid, and unsaponifiable matter. (See Final Submission for Fatty Acids and Related Substances for details)
Results: