FIELD: chemistry.
SUBSTANCE: invention relates to a method for decarboxylating ketonization of fatty acids, fatty acid derivatives or mixtures thereof in a liquid phase with metal compounds as catalysts, characterized in that a) in the first stage, elementary metal or a metal compound and at least one fatty acid, at least one fatty acid derivative or a mixture thereof containing at least 10% mol. relatively to the total amount of fatty acid or fatty acid derivative, fatty acid containing 12 carbon atoms or less, or derivative of fatty acid having 12 carbon atoms or less are mixed in a molar ratio from 1:0.8 to 1:3.5 (molar ratio of metal:equivalent of a carboxyl group) and are subjected to interaction for P1 from 5 min to 24 h at a temperature T1 that is strictly above 270°C and strictly below 300°C in the practical absence of an added solvent, wherein the specified elementary metal or metal compound is selected from a group consisting of iron, iron (II) oxide, mixed iron (II) and iron (III) oxide, magnesium and its oxide, and b) then the temperature is increased to temperature T2, which varies from 300°C to 400°C, and additional fatty acid, fatty acid derivative or a mixture thereof containing at least 10% mol. relatively to the total amount of fatty acid or fatty acid derivative, fatty acid having 12 carbon atoms or less, or derivative of such fatty acid are added for a period of time P2 from 5 min to 24 h in the absence of an added solvent and at least at a rate that allows avoiding the formation of amounts of free acid in a reaction system, as long as the molar ratio of fatty acid, fatty acid derivative or a mixture thereof to metal will not be from 6:1 to 99:1.
EFFECT: technical result is that a new commercially applicable method for the production of ketones from fatty acids or their derivatives is developed.
14 cl, 2 ex
