Production of biodiesel yields two main by-products: a solid residue we discussed about in Green’s previous issue, and glycerol. More than of a by-product one should speak of glycerol as a co-product, as its impact on the overall economy of the biodiesel production chain is pivotal. Glycerine (a concentrated aqueous solution of glycerol) is nowadays no longer an attractive product as its increased availability has caused a dramatic fall in its price. Thus to enhance market competitiveness of biodiesel there is need to find alternative uses for glycerine. Currently, glycerol is produce industrially from glycerides (via saponification and transesterification), propylene (through various synthetic pathways) and sugars (via hydrogenolysis and fermentation). Glycerol founds applications in more than 1500 uses, such as food industry, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, tobacco and paper industry just to name a few. However, for all these uses the market is full. In principle glycerol could be used directly as a fuel but there are a number of drawbacks. Glycerol must then be derived to yield products with high added value, widespread use and low production costs. At the moment this strategy is relatively successful, as the quantity of glycerol absorbed is very modest. However research is still going on in this direction also thanks to sizeable amount of funds released by the European Union.
Il glicerolo un derivato del biodiesel (By-products in biodiesel production. Part Two – Glycerol)
AURICCHIO, SERGIO
2007-01-01
Abstract
Production of biodiesel yields two main by-products: a solid residue we discussed about in Green’s previous issue, and glycerol. More than of a by-product one should speak of glycerol as a co-product, as its impact on the overall economy of the biodiesel production chain is pivotal. Glycerine (a concentrated aqueous solution of glycerol) is nowadays no longer an attractive product as its increased availability has caused a dramatic fall in its price. Thus to enhance market competitiveness of biodiesel there is need to find alternative uses for glycerine. Currently, glycerol is produce industrially from glycerides (via saponification and transesterification), propylene (through various synthetic pathways) and sugars (via hydrogenolysis and fermentation). Glycerol founds applications in more than 1500 uses, such as food industry, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, tobacco and paper industry just to name a few. However, for all these uses the market is full. In principle glycerol could be used directly as a fuel but there are a number of drawbacks. Glycerol must then be derived to yield products with high added value, widespread use and low production costs. At the moment this strategy is relatively successful, as the quantity of glycerol absorbed is very modest. However research is still going on in this direction also thanks to sizeable amount of funds released by the European Union.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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