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Tall oil is a yellow substance made from pine forest pulping and contains rosin, fatty acids, sterols, alcohols, and other materials. It can be used raw or processed to make soap, inks, and chemicals. The crude oil can be distilled to produce tall oil rosin and tall oil fatty acid, while distillate and pitch are also produced. Tall oil can be used as an alternative fuel and can positively impact profits and equipment performance.
Tall oil is a dark yellow substance derived from the chemical pulping of pine forests. It is made from a blend of rosin, fatty acids, sterols, alcohols and other non-acidic materials. The viscosity of this oily raw material can vary greatly. It can be used in its raw form or processed and used to make numerous products such as soap, inks and chemicals.
Chemical pulping usually involves cooking wood chips in a chemical mixture known as a liquor. This produces a type of soapy material consisting of, among other things, rosin and fatty acids. When this process is complete, the liquor is normally black and must be separated from the pulp. This soapy material can then be mechanically separated from the black liquor. When sulfuric acid and heat are added to the material, it becomes tall oil crude.
Processing this substance can lead to the production of numerous products. There are four that are common. When crude oil is distilled and the rosin content is more than 10%, it is often referred to as tall oil rosin. This substance is used to make rubber, inks and adhesives.
When crude oil is refined and the rosin content is 10% or less, the resulting product is known as tall oil fatty acid. This fatty acid is used in paints, cleaners and linoleum. This type of fatty acid is often considered better than those derived from animal and vegetable oils. One benefit is that the final products made with this substance tend to have better coloring and viscosity.
Tall oil distillate and tall oil pitch are also produced from the crude product. The distillate product is used for oilfield chemicals, fuel additives, and coatings. Pitch is used as an emulsifier for cement and to make products such as chemicals and biofuels.
Tall oil has also been marketed by some as an alternative fuel. It is said to be biodegradable and made from renewable resources, so it’s better for the environment than fossil fuels. It has also been claimed that this substance can be used in combination with fossil fuels and biofuels or can be used to replace them completely in fuel combustion systems.
Some pulping plants do not sell this product. This is often considered a carelessly ignored revenue stream. Removing tall oil producing material can positively impact profits and can also improve equipment performance.
