Below are commonly asked questions about our Promethean products. If the information you are looking for is not provided, please click here to contact someone who can help.
What is a methyl ester?
Methyl esters are a family of materials that are used as a base for producing other products. Methyl esters can be produced from a variety of raw materials such as fats and plant oils. Common resources for methyl ester manufacture are coconut, palm, canola and rapeseed oils, recycled vegetable oils, and beef tallow. Methyl esters are made through a chemical process called transesterification. The conversion of these oils to methyl esters involves the use of methanol as a raw material and a basic catalyst (potassium or sodium). Glycerin is a by-product of the conversion process. The methyl esters are washed to purify the product prior to sale. The methyl ester material produced from the oils mentioned above have a unique carbon chain distribution that is set by the oil and process used. Some methyl ester production methods have the ability to process oils with fatty acids (FFA) and convert the FFA to methyl esters, thus increasing the yield of oil fed to product production. When a more specific carbon chain length methyl ester is required, fractionalization of the broader product can and may be possible using specialty equipment.
All methyl esters are not the same. Methyl esters produced from yellow grease (recycled cooking oil) have significantly more lubricity than other methyl ester bases such as soy and palm oils. Although Promethean produces methyl esters from a variety of bases such as soy, palm, and peanut oil, the majority of our product is derived from biomass-based yellow grease.
Where can I use a methyl ester?
Promethean methyl esters are very diverse and used in a wide variety of applications such as: agriculture, asphalt, cleaners, coatings, compounding, construction, dust control,inks, lubricants, metalworking, mining, personal care, process oils, pulp and paper, and textiles.
What is an Iodine Value?
In analytical chemistry, measure of the degree of unsaturation of an oil, fat, or wax; the amount of iodine, in grams, that is taken up by 100 grams of the oil, fat, or wax. Saturated oils, fats, and waxes take up no iodine; therefore their iodine value is zero. Unsaturated oils, fats, and waxes take up iodine (unsaturated compounds contain molecules with double or triple bonds).
Are Promethean's methyl esters made from renewable resources?
Yes. All of our finished products are produced from renewable American resources. They are non-hazardous, non-carcinogenic, and biodegradable.
Typical Iodine values for methyl esters are:
Coconut 6 to 11
Yellow Grease 80 to
100
Tallow 45 to 55
Soy 115 to 139
Palm 34 to 60
Rapeseed 94 to 120
Choice White 65 to 75
What is VOC content?
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) are widely used as ingredients in household products. These compounds vaporize at normal room temperatures, sometimes causing adverse health effects. Paints, varnishes, and wax all contain organic solvents, as do fuels, and many cleaning, disinfecting, cosmetic, degreasing, and hobby products. These products can release organic compounds while in use and, to some degree, when they are stored. The EPA has certain common chemicals as having a high VOC content that may be harmful to the environment. Regulations to eliminate high VOC content components will initiate changes in non-compliant product formulas.
| Product | Flash Point | Vapour Pressure |
KB | VOC Listed |
VOC |
NFPA Placard |
| Promethean ME | >266 | 1.3 | 58 | No | <2 g/L | 0, 1, 0 |
| d-Limonene | 121 | 2 | 56 | Yes | 850 g/L | 1, 2, 0 |
| Mineral Spirits | 107 | 5 | 32 | Yes | 770 g/L | 2, 2, 0 |
| Toluene | 40 | 28 | 105 | Yes | 100% | 2, 3, 0 |