(115d) Developing Sustainable Chemical Processes to Utilize Waste Crude Biodiesel-Derived Glycerol

Recent estimates predict that the demand for biodiesel in the United States will grow from 6 to 9 million metric tons per year in upcoming years; consequentially, biodiesel derived glycerol production will show similar increases. For every 9 kg of biodiesel produced, 1 kg of glycerol is generated as a by-product. Developing economically viable processes to generate commercially important chemical products based on using crude glycerol as a feedstock can potentially improve not only the economic performance but also the overall carbon utilization of biodiesel production.

Numerous chemical products currently produced from crude oil derived propylene can also be produced from bio-based crude glycerol. Various three-carbon chemicals, such as acrolein, 1,2-propanediol, 1,3-propanediol, propionaldehyde and hydroxyacetone, as well as 1,2-ethanediol and methanol can be manufactured from glycerol. Many novel chemical processes have been described to synthesize these products; however, in order to justify pursuing the development of manufacturing processes for these chemical species, cost targets must be identified for which the processes are economically viable.

This submission will investigate the development of simulations to determine the cost targets and economic feasibility of the proposed processes.