US Patent 7125694 Process for producing wax ester from dihydroxy fatty acid

A process for producing wax ester comprising of esterifying dihydroxy fatty acid preferably dihydroxystearic acid with at least one alcohol in the presence of lipase as a catalyst which is then remove by filtration. The filtered catalyst could be reuse and provides a number of cost advantages. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the dihydroxystearic acid is derived from palm based oleic acid and the alcohol contains 8 to 18 carbon atoms per molecules.