acid dea the dea should be added slowly e g at a rate of around 25 lbs min for a total dea load of 7690 lbs 3488 kg u2014 which would correspond to a isostearic acid load of 32310 lbs 14656 kg the reaction will be heated to 149 u00b0 c 300 u00b0 f at rate of 0 8 u00b0 c min 1 5 u00b0 f min and the water distillation is started the heating is generally provided by the exothermic reaction between the fatty acid and dea but additional heating or cooling can be provided if required to achieve and or maintain the desired temperature excessive foam build up at the beginning of distillation should be watched for when the temperature reaches 149 u00b0 c 300 u00b0 f the time is recorded this is used to track the total time at temperature for the batch i e u201c reaction time u201d the reactor is held at 149 u00b0 c 300 u00b0 f and the vacuum is brought down to the desired level e g below 50 mm hg it is important to observe for excessive foam build up at the beginning of vacuum ramp once full vacuum has been reached the conditions are held the temperature should not be allowed to exceed 153 u00b0 c 307 5 u00b0 f the mixture within the reactor is sampled regularly to check reaction progress e g hourly when each sample is taken the total time for the batch at 149 u00b0 c 300 u00b0 f is recorded the results of the sample analysis are logged suitable acid and alkali number end parameters.