A process for producing a polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid ester in which the bitterness just after the production and the bitterness with the lapse of time is suppressed. The process of the invention includes reacting an ester (component A) of a fatty acid having 10 to 22 carbon atoms and a monohydric alcohol having 1 to 3 carbon atoms with at least either (component B) of sorbitol and sorbitan to form a sorbitan fatty acid ester and adding ethylene oxide to the sorbitan fatty acid ester, thereby producing a polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid ester, which is characterized that the following steps (a) to (d) are contained: (a) the component B is provided in the form of a 50 to 90% by weight aqueous solution and mixed with the component A and dehydration was performed until a water content in the system reaches 1.0% by weight or less based on the total weight of the components A and B; (b) 1 to 10% by weight of a monohydric alcohol having 1 to 3 carbon atoms and 0.1 to 1.0% by weight of an alkali catalyst based on the total weight of the components A and B are added at 50 to 90° C.; (c) a transesterification reaction is performed under a nitrogen stream at a reaction temperature of 140 to 190° C. to thereby obtain a sorbitan fatty acid ester; (d) ethylene oxide is added thereto at a reaction temperature of 70 to 130° C.
一种生产聚氧
乙烯山梨醇脂肪酸酯的方法,其中在生产后的苦味和随时间流逝的苦味被抑制。该发明的方法包括将具有10至22个碳原子的
脂肪酸酯(组分A)和具有1至3个碳原子的单元醇与
山梨醇和山
梨醇酯(组分B)中的至少一个反应,以形成
山梨酸脂肪酸酯,并向
山梨酸脂肪酸酯中添加
环氧乙烷,从而生产聚氧
乙烯山梨醇脂肪酸酯,其特征在于包含以下步骤(a)至(d):(a)以50至90%重量的
水溶液形式提供组分B,并与组分A混合,并进行脱
水处理,直到系统中的
水含量基于组分A和B的总重量达到1.0%或更少;(b)在50至90℃下,向组分A和B的总重量中添加1至10%重量的具有1至3个碳原子的单元醇和0.1至1.0%重量的碱催化剂;(c)在氮气流下,在反应温度为140至190℃下进行酯交换反应,从而获得
山梨酸脂肪酸酯;(d)在反应温度为70至130℃下向其中添加
环氧乙烷。