# Fatty acids

Fatty acids split from palm, palm kernel, coconut, tallow and tall oil feed soaps, cosmetics, tyres and plastics; about 11.7 Mt of demand in 2024.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_acids/

Bio-based chemicals · Oleochemicals · No. 106

- Single chemical
- Feedstock: Crops and biomass
- 11.7 Mt demand (2024); capacity about 14 Mt in 2024 (derived) rising to 18.1 Mt by 2027
- 3.5 t CO₂e per t
- HS 382311, 382319
 Bio-based chemicals · Oleochemicals · Foundation · Matter

Your soap, your car tyres and your lipstick may all share molecules split from the same palm fruit.

Chart: Illustration: Fatty acids

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Oils and fats are split with hot water at about 250°C and 50 bar, then distilled into cuts such as lauric and stearic acid.

##### Three things to know

1. Splitting a tonne of oil with water releases about 0.1 t of glycerine alongside the fatty acids.
2. Wilmar alone holds about 13% of world fatty acid capacity, and four palm groups together hold over a third.
3. India imported 567 kt of industrial fatty acids in 2024, worth $558 million.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Oils and fats**Palm, palm kernel, coconut, tallow, tall oil
2. 2 **Fat splitting**Water and oil at 250°C, 50 bar
3. 3 **Distillation**Cut by chain length, C8 to C18
4. 4 **Hydrogenation**Optional hardening into stearic acid
5. 5 **Derivatives**Soaps, esters, stearates, amines, fatty alcohols
 Covered in [From building blocks to plastics, fibres and detergentsChemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/chemicals/building-blocks-to-polymers/)[Colour and protection: dyes, pigments, paints and coatingsChemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/chemicals/dyes-pigments-coatings/)[Soaps, detergents and agrochemicalsChemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/chemicals/soaps-detergents-agrochemicals/)[Biorefineries and platform chemicalsChemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/chemicals/biorefineries-platform-chemicals/)

##### Go deeper pick a tab to open it in full

## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_acids/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_acids/correlation/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_acids/routes/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_acids/production/index.md)
- [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_acids/feedstocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_acids/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_acids/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_acids/movement/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_acids/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_acids/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_acids/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_acids/links/index.md)