TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Components: The expanding gas is a nonpolar expanding gas such as carbon dioxide, methane, ethane, propane, butane, pentane, ethylene, propylene, butylene, pentene and/or isomers into the alcohol. Preferred Process: Providing the reaction mixture comprising the alcohol and the triglyceride or fatty acid, comprises providing each of the alcohol and the triglyceride or fatty acid in a liquid phase. The alcohol and the triglyceride or fatty acid are substantially immiscible at ambient temperature and pressure. Dissolving the expanding gas into the alcohol comprises forming a gas expanded solvent, or dissolving the expanding gas (approximately 1-20%) into an alcohol (methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol and/or isomers), or formulating the alcohol and the triglyceride or fatty acid to be miscible with one another. Dissolving the expanding gas into the alcohol comprises maintaining the reaction mixture at a temperature below, at, or above a critical temperature of the expanding gas and at a pressure below, at, or above a critical pressure of the expanding gas, preferably maintaining the reaction mixture at approximately 10-200degreesC and at 200-5000 pounds per square inch gauge. The process comprises reacting the alcohol with the triglyceride or fatty acid in the single phase i.e. a liquid phase, to produce the alkyl ester and the reaction comprises formulating the alcohol and the triglyceride or fatty acid to be miscible with one another. The process further comprises adjusting temperature and/or pressure to separate the alkyl ester from expanding gas, glycerol, and/or excess alcohol, or to recover the expanding gas. Adjusting the temperature and the pressure to separate the alkyl ester from the expanding gas, glycerol, and/or excess alcohol comprises lowering the temperature and/or the pressure. Adjusting the temperature and the pressure to recover the expanding gas comprises lowering the temperature and the pressure to ambient temperature and ambient pressure. The production of (I) comprises dissolving an expanding gas into the alcohol to form a gas expanded solvent; contacting the gas expanded solvent with the triglyceride or the fatty acid; and reacting the alcohol and the triglyceride or fatty acid in a single phase to form the alkyl ester.