PROCESS FOR PRODUCING BRANCHED CHAIN FATTY ACIDS AND ESTERS THEREOF

1 . A method of producing a branched fatty acid or alkyl esters thereof, the method comprising:

subjecting an oleic acid composition comprising at least about 30% of at least one of oleic acid, linoleic acid, or a combination thereof, to an isomerization reaction in the presence of water and at least one protonated zeolite isomerization catalyst to produce branched unsaturated fatty acids or alkyl esters thereof.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one protonated zeolite isomerization catalyst includes at least one of:

a Zeolite Socony Mobil-5 (ZSM-5) structure or a ferrierite structure;

a pore size of about 4.0 to about 9.0 angstroms;

a Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) surface area of about 150 to about 400 m 2 /g;

a mole ratio of SiO 2 to Al 2 O 3 of about 15 to about 27;

a particle size of about 3 to about 22 μm;

a crystal size of up to about 1.2 μm;

a clay binder or an alumina binder; or

a combination thereof.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of:

the oleic acid composition comprises less than about 90% of at least one of oleic acid, linoleic acid, or a combination thereof;

the oleic acid composition is present in an amount of greater than or equal to about 85.0 weight percent (wt %) of the isomerization reaction;

the water is present in an amount of no greater than about 4.0 wt % of the isomerization reaction;

the at least one protonated zeolite isomerization catalyst is present in an amount of less than about 5.0 wt % of the isomerization reaction; or a combination thereof.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of:

the isomerization reaction does not include a Lewis base;

the isomerization reaction is performed for up to about 30 hours (e.g., up to about 26 hours, up to about 20 hours, up to about 15 hours, up to about 10 hours, up to about 6 hours, up to about 4 hours, about 1 to about 30 hours, about 1 to about 26 hours, about 1 to about 20 hours, about 1 to about 15 hours, about 1 to about 10 hours, about 1 to about 6 hours, about 1 hour to about 4 hours, about 2 hours to about 6 hours, or about 2 hours to about 4 hours); or a combination thereof.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the isomerization reaction was performed (i) at about 200° C. to about 300° C., (ii) with a final pressure of about 50 pounds per square inch to about 500 pounds per square inch, or (iii) a combination thereof of (i) and (ii).

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the isomerization reaction was performed with a final pressure of less than or equal to about 125 pounds per square inch.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of:

the method produces less than or equal to about 40% dimers;

the method provides at least about 90% conversion; or a combination thereof.

8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising, consisting essentially of, or consisting of, recovering or isolating the at least one protonated zeolite isomerization catalyst, and optionally regenerating the at least one protonated zeolite isomerization catalyst.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one protonated zeolite isomerization catalyst is in a pellet form.

10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising, consisting essentially of, or consisting of, regenerating the at least one protonated zeolite isomerization catalyst by heating the at least one protonated zeolite isomerization catalyst.

11 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one protonated zeolite isomerization catalyst is located in a fixed bed of a reactor, and the method optionally further comprises, consists essentially of, or consists of, removing the at least one protonated zeolite isomerization catalyst from the fixed bed prior to heating.

12 . The method of claim 8 , wherein recovering or isolating the at least one protonated zeolite isomerization catalyst comprises filtering the branched unsaturated fatty acids or alkyl esters to obtain a filtrate comprising filtered branched unsaturated fatty acids or alkyl esters and a particulate comprising the at least one protonated zeolite isomerization catalyst, and optionally, regenerating the at least one protonated zeolite isomerization catalyst through at least one of an acid treatment, a heat treatment, or a combination thereof, of the particulate. 13, The method of claim 1 , further comprising, consisting essentially of, or consisting of, subjecting a reaction product of the isomerization reaction or the branched unsaturated fatty acids or alkyl esters thereof to an additional isomerization reaction in the presence of water and (i) at least one protonated zeolite isomerization catalyst or (ii) a clay catalyst to produce branched unsaturated fatty acids or alkyl esters thereof.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein subjecting the reaction product of the isomerization reaction or the branched unsaturated fatty acids or alkyl esters thereof to the additional isomerization reaction comprises adding the water and (i) the at least one protonated zeolite isomerization catalyst or (ii) the clay catalyst to the isomerization reaction or the branched unsaturated fatty acids or alkyl esters thereof.

15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein at least one of:

the additional isomerization reaction does not include a Lewis base;

the additional isomerization reaction is performed for up to about 15 hours;

the additional isomerization reaction was performed at about 200° C. to about 300° C.;

the additional isomerization reaction was performed with a final pressure of less than or equal to about 125 pounds per square inch; or a combination thereof.

16 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising, consisting essentially of, or consisting of, hydrogenating the branched unsaturated fatty acids or alkyl esters thereof in the presence of a hydrogenation catalyst to produce branched saturated fatty acids or alkyl esters thereof.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the hydrogenation catalyst does not include a palladium-based catalyst.

18 . The method of claim 16 , wherein hydrogenating the branched unsaturated fatty acids or alkyl esters thereof comprises at least one of:

heating a reaction mixture to about 200° C. to about 230° C.;

pressurizing a reaction mixture to about 90 pounds per square inch to about 110 pounds per square inch;

reacting a reaction mixture until the oleic acid content is below about 2%;

reacting a reaction mixture for at least about 5 hours; or

a combination thereof.

19 . The method of claim 16 , wherein at least one of:

the hydrogenation catalyst comprises at least one of a spongy nickel catalyst, a supported nickel catalyst, a polymer-supported nickel catalyst, or a combination thereof;

the hydrogenation catalyst is present in an amount of no greater than about 3 wt % of the reaction mixture;

the branched unsaturated fatty acids or alkyl esters thereof is present in an amount of at least about 97 wt % of the reaction mixture; or a combination thereof.

20 . The method of claim 16 , wherein hydrogenating the branched unsaturated fatty acids or alkyl esters thereof comprises preparing a reaction mixture comprising a hydrogenation catalyst and the branched unsaturated fatty acids or alkyl esters thereof.

21 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising, consisting essentially of, or consisting of, distilling the branched unsaturated fatty acids or alkyl esters.

22 . The method of claim 21 , wherein at least one of:

distilling is wiped film evaporator vacuum distillation;

distilling the branched unsaturated fatty acids or alkyl esters includes at least one of:

isolating the branched unsaturated fatty acids or alkyl esters;

isolating the zeolite isomerization catalyst;

isolating at least one of dimer fatty acids, trimer fatty acids, or a combination thereof; or

a combination thereof;

a combination thereof.

23 . The method of claim 21 , wherein distilling is wiped film evaporator vacuum distillation, and at least one of:

a still body jacket of the wiped film evaporator is heated to a temperature of about 220° C. to about 260° C. with vacuum;

a condenser of the wiped film evaporator is set to a temperature of about 50° C. to about 70° C.;

a cold trap of the wiped film evaporator is set to a temperature of about 3° C. to about 10° C.; or a combination thereof.

24 . A composition comprising:

branched unsaturated fatty acids or alkyl esters monomers in an amount of about 30.0 wt % to about 90.0 wt %, based on the total weight of the composition; and

branched unsaturated fatty acid or alkyl ester oligomers in an amount of about 10.0 wt % to about 30.0 wt %, based on the total weight of the composition.