Methyl Esters: What They Are and What They’re Used For
When looking for sustainable excipient ingredients, methyl esters have the strength and versatility for use in commercial, industrial, home care, and cosmetic products.
What Are Methyl Esters?
Methyl esters are a common fatty acid – a form of non-toxic, biodegradable, and sustainable oleochemical.
These esters are primarily derived from natural sources like vegetable oils and animal fats.
Often referred to as FAME (fatty acid methyl ester), these compounds have strong solubility and lubricity. This allows them to act as a key ingredient in different types of industrial and household cleaners, lubricants, alternative fuels, and many consumer products that we use every day.
FAME and solubility
Solubility is a chemical’s ability to mix consistently with another chemical. Oil has low solubility, meaning that it does not mix well with water. FAME have high solubility, meaning that they disperse evenly throughout a solution, and cause other chemicals to do the same. This makes them useful ingredients in spray-on applications where the dispersal of a compound is needed, like in sprayable fertilizers or pesticides.
FAME and lubricity
Lubricity is how slippery or lubricated a chemical compound is. Chemicals with high lubricity reduce friction between moving objects. This makes FAME useful in high heat applications like the oil and gas industry or in industrial manufacturing. The addition of methyl esters to a solution can lower its viscosity, making liquid transfer faster.
How Are Methyl Esters Extracted?
FAME can be produced from several sources, most often from vegetable oils, animal fats, or unused cooking oils by a process called transesterification. Using this method, we combine glycerides and alcohols to form fatty acids. Then we extract methyl esters from the fatty acids before readying the FAME for use as an ingredient.
We can also mix multiple fatty acid methyl esters to form biodiesel, a common alternative fuel for vehicles and aircraft. Alternative uses for biodiesel include heat for cooking and energy production. The CREMER Paraguay location sources domestic soybeans for biodiesel, a product that reduces the country’s reliance on foreign petroleum sources.
Why choose domestic methyl ester?
Domestically-sourced methyl esters rely on in-country suppliers and refiners, so pricing remains consistent despite any international trade fluctuations. Domestic methyl ester suppliers also have the advantage of local and regional sourcing, reducing logistical and storage costs.
What Is Water White Methyl Ester?
Water white methyl ester is a highly-refined, highly-distilled methyl ester product that carries solutes without adding color or odor, making it top-of-the-line in purity and suitable for cosmetic, skin care, and other uses that require exact color and fragrance formulations.
CREMER water white methyl ester comes from sustainable domestic sources in the United States and like our other FAME products is biodegradable and non-toxic. Visit our methyl esters page for a quote or to order a sample.
What Are Methyl Esters Used For?
A wide variety of commercial and industrial products we use every day incorporate fatty acid methyl esters. Among the different applications for fatty acid methyl esters, some of the most common include:
- Soaps
- Hand cleaners
- Shampoo
- Cosmetic products
- Paint strippers and solvents
- Lubricants
- Industrial oils
- Household cleaners
- Degreasers
- Laundry detergents
- Herbicides and pesticides
- Fracking fluids
- Biodiesel fuels
Because fatty acid methyl esters are biodegradable and produce low VOCs, they have a green profile. They are environmentally safe, versatile, and contribute to our ongoing mission to protect our communities and the environment as a whole.
CREMER for FAME supply, logistics, and transloading
A supplier like CREMER with a multi-region footprint and experience with barge, train, and truck shipping and transloading can significantly increase your logistical efficiency. Contact us to learn more about incorporating sustainably-sourced FAME in your industrial and commercial products.o learn more information, see spec sheets, and its practical uses in everyday products.