Oleochemicals are chemicals derived from biological oils or fats. They are analogous to petrochemicals which are chemicals derived from petroleum. A chemical substance is any material substance used in or obtained by a process in chemistry: A chemical compound is a substance consisting of two or more chemical elements that are chemically combined in fixed proportions. ... Oil is a generic term for organic liquids that are not miscible with water. ... In biochemistry, fat is a generic term for a class of lipids. ... A petrochemical is any chemical derived from fossil fuel. ... Nodding donkey pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario, 2001 Petroleum (from Latin petra – rock and oleum – oil), crude oil, sometimes colloquially called black gold, is a thick, dark brown or greenish flammable liquid, which exists in the upper strata of some areas of the Earths crust. ...

The hydrolysis or alcoholysis of oils or fats form the basis of the oleochemical industry and use the same oleochemical general formula: Hydrolysis is a chemical process in which a molecule is cleaved into two parts by the addition of a molecule of water. ...

RCOOCH₂-CHOOCR-RCOOCH₂ + R´OH →

RCOOR´-RCOOR´-RCOOR´ + CH₂OH-CHOH-CH₂OH

(bio-oil or fats) + R´OH →(Fatty acids or esters) + Glycerol

The hydrolysis of the triglycerides composing oils and fats produces fatty acids and glycerol. Triglyceride (blue: fatty acid; red: glycerol backbone) Triglycerides (or triacylglycerols) are glycerides in which the glycerol is esterified with three fatty acids. ... In chemistry, especially biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid (or organic acid), often with a long aliphatic tail (long chains), either saturated or unsaturated. ... ...

In hydrolysis R´= H. So water (H₂O) is added:

RCOOCH₂-CHOOCR-RCOOCH₂ + H₂O →

RCOOH-RCOOH-RCOOH + CH₂OH-CHOH-CH₂OH

If oils or fats are made to react with an alcohol instead of with water, the process is alcoholysis and the products are fatty acid esters and glycerol. In general usage, alcohol (from Arabic al-khwl الكحول, or al-ghawl الغول) refers almost always to ethanol, also known as grain alcohol, and often to any beverage that contains ethanol (see alcoholic beverage). ... Esters are a type of molecule usually encountered as sweet smelling organic compounds commonly produced by many plants and fruits. ...

In alcoholysis R´= alkyl group. So alcohol is added: An alkyl is a functional group of an organic chemical that contains only carbon and hydrogen atoms, which are arranged in a chain. ...

RCOOCH₂-CHOOCR-RCOOCH₂ + C_nH_2n+1OH →

RCOOC_nH_2n+1-RCOOC_nH_2n+1-RCOOC_nH_2n+1 + CH₂OH-CHOH-CH₂OH