Current and Future Trends for Crude Glycerol Upgrading to High Value-Added Products

Muhammad Harussani Moklis, Shou Cheng and Jeffrey S. Cross ()
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Muhammad Harussani Moklis: Energy Science and Engineering, Department of Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 S6-10, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan
Shou Cheng: Energy Science and Engineering, Department of Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 S6-10, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan
Jeffrey S. Cross: Energy Science and Engineering, Department of Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 S6-10, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 4, 1-30

Abstract: Crude glycerol is the main byproduct of biodiesel manufacturing from oleaginous crops and other biomass-derived oils. Approximately 10% crude glycerol is produced with every batch of biodiesel. Worldwide, there is a glut of glycerol and the price of it has decreased considerably. There are real opportunities for valorizing crude glycerol into higher value-added chemicals which can improve the economic viability of biodiesel production as an alternative fuel. Exploring new potential applications of glycerol in various sectors is needed such as in pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, cosmetics, and as a transportation fuel. However, crude glycerol produced directly from biodiesel often contains impurities that hinder its direct industrial usage and thus, a refining process is needed which is typically expensive. Hence, this review reports on current upgrading crude glycerol technologies—thermo-, bio-, physico-, and electrochemical approaches—that valorize it into higher value-added chemicals. Through comparison between those viable upgrading techniques, future research directions, challenges, and advantages/disadvantage of the technologies are described. Electrochemical technology, which is still underdeveloped in this field, is highlighted, due to its simplicity, low maintenance cost, and it working in ambient condition, as it shows promising potential to be applied as a major glycerol upgrading technique.

Keywords: crude glycerol; biodiesel; thermo-, electro-, and biochemical glycerol upgrading (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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