A method for the rapid and uninterrupted single stage manufacture of polyglycerol esters comprising reacting a monoester of glycerine in the presence of an acidic catalyst and heat. The method can be practised in current reaction vessels of the vertical cylinder type. There is no need to draw off polyglycerol during the course of the reaction.
This application is a divisional of copending application Ser. No. 07/219,399 filed on Jul. 15, 1988, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,441 which was a continuation-in part of application Ser. No. 895,470 filed Jul. 23, 1986, now abandoned which was a continuation of application Ser. No. 552,388 filed Nov. 16, 1983, now abandoned.
A process is described for the treatment of an aqueous medium which has been polluted with hydrocarbon compounds, termed crude oil, and a demulsifying and dispersing composition. The crude oil is brought into contact with a solution of a mixture of polyglycerol esters in a proportion of at least 50 ppm by weight in order to inhibit formation of a water-in crude oil emulsion or to partially break the emulsion if it has already formed. The polyglycerol esters can be combined with a surfactant, preferably an anionic surfactant, such as a sodium alkylsulphosuccinate.
