# Fatty acids: Overview Soap, shampoo, tyres and paint: the many lives of a fatty acid Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_acids/overview/ What this tab covers What the chemical is, how big its market is, what it is used for (with shares, volumes, why it wins and what could replace it), and its chain from raw material to end user. Ends with three things to remember. Fatty acids are the carboxylic acid chains of fats and oils. They are made by splitting oils with water at high temperature and pressure, which also releases glycerine, then distilling and fractionating into cuts such as lauric (C12) and stearic (C16-18) acid. World demand was 11.7 Mt in 2024 and capacity should reach 18.1 Mt by 2027 (GlobalData). South-East Asia makes over half, led by Wilmar, KLK, Musim Mas and Apical. India is a net importer (567 kt in 2024) with VVF and Godrej as the main producers. Their footprint is mostly the palm or coconut oil behind them. Volume 11.7 Mt demand (2024); capacity about 14 Mt in 2024 (derived) rising to 18.1 Mt by 2027 Market value about $15-17 billion a year (indicative, basis: 11.7 Mt x about $1,330-1,450/t, 2024 world export unit values of HS 382319 and 382311) Growth about 4 Mt of new capacity in 2024-2027 against demand growth of a few per cent a year, so overcapacity is building (GlobalData) GlobalData presentation, Fedepalma International Conference, Aug 2025; UN Comtrade 2024 (unit values, derived) #### Key uses | Use | Share | Annual volume | Why this commodity | Alternatives | |---|---|---|---|---| | **Soaps, detergents and cleaning products** | 30% | about 3.5 Mtbasis | Neutralised fatty acids are soap; distilled palm and coconut fatty acids make toilet soap noodles and liquid soaps, and feed surfactant chains. indicative | Direct saponification of oils Synthetic surfactants (LAS) | | **Personal care and cosmetics** | 15% | about 1.8 Mtbasis | Stearic, palmitic and myristic acids and their esters are thickeners, emulsifiers and pearlisers in creams, shaving foam and deodorants. indicative | Fatty alcohols Silicones | | **Rubber, plastics and metal stearates** | 22% | about 2.6 Mtbasis | Stearic acid activates sulphur curing in tyres; calcium and zinc stearates lubricate and stabilise PVC and polyolefins. indicative | Synthetic waxes Organotin stabilisers | | **Lubricants, greases and metalworking fluids** | 8% | about 0.9 Mtbasis | Lithium and calcium soaps of fatty acids thicken greases; esters make biodegradable lubricants. indicative | Mineral oil and polyurea greases | | **Coatings, alkyd resins, inks and paper chemicals** | 8% | about 0.9 Mtbasis | Unsaturated acids (tall oil, soy, linseed) cross-link in alkyd paints; others are used in inks and paper sizing. indicative | Acrylic and polyurethane binders | | **Candles, animal feed, food and other** | 17% | about 2.0 Mtbasis | Stearin candles, rumen-protected calcium soaps for dairy cattle, food emulsifiers and esters for many specialties. indicative | Paraffin wax | No published global end-use split was found; shares are indicative on the 11.7 Mt demand of 2024 (GlobalData). China takes about a third of world demand. #### From raw material to user 1. **Oils and fats** Palm oil and stearin, palm kernel and coconut oil (lauric), tallow, and crude tall oil from kraft pulp mills. 2. **Fat splitting** Oil and water react at about 250°C and 50 bar in a counter-current column; about 0.1 t glycerine is released per t of oil (indicative). 3. **Distillation and fractionation** Crude fatty acids are distilled and split by chain length into C8-C10, C12-C14, C16-C18 and oleic cuts (indicative). 4. **Hydrogenation (optional)** Unsaturated acids are hardened with hydrogen to make stearic acid (indicative). 5. **Derivatives** Soaps, esters, amides, stearates, amines and fatty alcohols; over half of world supply comes from South-East Asia (GlobalData). #### Made from (commodity table) [PO Palm oil](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/palm_oil/)[Cnt Coconut oil](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/coconut/) #### Three things to know - World fatty acid demand was 11.7 Mt in 2024 while capacity heads to 18.1 Mt by 2027 (GlobalData, 2025). - Four integrated palm groups hold over a third of capacity: Wilmar 13%, KLK 8%, Musim Mas 7% and Apical 6% (GlobalData, 2024). - Indonesia and Malaysia supplied 66% of world exports of HS 382319 industrial fatty acids by value in 2024, while India imported 567 kt (UN Comtrade). #### Read the tabs [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_acids/routes/)[Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_acids/production/)[Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_acids/feedstocks/)[Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_acids/cycles/)[Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_acids/trading/)[Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_acids/movement/)[Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_acids/regulation/)[Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_acids/characteristics/)[Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_acids/emissions/) ## Other sections - [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_acids/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)