While in itself a valuable raw material, this will far outstrip world demand for glycerin. The traditional applications of the chemical in the cosmetics, food, and pharmaceutical industry are already well developed. As neither disposal nor final deposition is an alternative, the question is: what to do with the excess glycerin that will be produced?
German scientists at the Department of Biochemical and Chemical Engineering of the University of Dortmund, led by Arno Behr are looking for alternatives uses.
With the support of the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection and the industrial partner Cognis Oleochemicals they are developing processes that will create new applications for glycerin.
In the first two projects new processes have been developed for synthesising glycerin into oxalic, succinic and glutaric acids. In two further projects the chemists have improved existing processes, resulting in more valuable end products.
The overall aim has been to develop laboratory-scale processes that can readily be scaled up for industrial use.
“For that reason the reactions take place in so called mini-plants”, explains project manager Behr. “They are virtually miniature chemical plants but with all the characteristics of a big production plant.”
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