The glycerin glut: Options for the value‐added conversion of crude glycerol resulting from biodiesel production

Abstract

Dramatic increases in the price of crude oil, and consequently, transportation fuels, coupled with increased environmental concerns have resulted in rapid growth in biodiesel production, both in the United States and worldwide. As biodiesel production increases, so does production of the primary coproduct, glycerol. Since the existing glycerol supply and demand market was tight, recent increases in glycerol production from biodiesel refining has created a glut in the glycerol market. As a result, the price of glycerol has fallen significantly and biodiesel refiners are faced with limited options for managing the glycerol by‐product, which in the biodiesel industry, has essentially become a waste stream. This article is a review of promising options for both the catalytic and biological conversion of glycerol into various value‐added products, many of which are bio‐based alternatives to petroleum‐derived chemicals. © 2007 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 26: 338–348, 2007

A new process for catalyst-free production of biodiesel using supercritical methyl acetate

“…The sales value of this crude glycerol becomes extremely low at approximately $0.1/kg when compared with the value of purified glycerol, at approximately $1.3~2.0/kg. When the cost of transportation is taken into consideration, the market price is in fact uneconomical [11].…”

Biodiesel production from vegetable oil: Process design, evaluation and optimization

“…fi lter plugging, higher soot agglomeration, oil adhesion, oil coagulation, engine knocking and failure 26 .…”

The selective oxidation of glycerol over model Au/TiO2 catalysts — The influence of glycerol purity on conversion and product selectivity

“…[1][2][3] Its valorisation through selective oxidation [5], etherification [6], dehydration [7] or reformation to H 2 [8] would impact on the economics of FAME production and further improve the atom efficiency (and carbon balance) of biodiesel production from vegetable or animal derived triglycerides.…”