Glycerol Production: Reviews In This Recent Development In Restorable Energy

Nowadays, the increase in the price of gas is a phenomenon one cannot consider as erratic. It is an occurrence that infuriates the general public. But one which people have to endure, come in terms with, and tighten their belts for them to be able to tide over the situation. The last two decades or so have seen some of the most unusual spikes in the price of gasoline, and consequently, this results to an increase in the cost of other commodities as well.

Gasoline and diesel belong to the non-renewable type of energy. Simply put, these are resources which cannot be readily replenished, or resources which have a limited supply. The main sources of energy in the world today are coal, oil and natural gas which are called fossil fuels. Unfortunately, fossils fuels are non-renewable. The extraction of fossil fuels from the earth turns out to be more difficult since they are becoming scarcer yet the demand is only becoming more urgent since these fossil fuels are used in nearly all industries from the largest to the smallest.

Therefore the renewable forms of energy have been the topic of many studies and discussions. Innovations in renewable energy generation are taking in the spotlight and seemingly unlikely sources of renewable energy are becoming the newest trend. Among this is glycerol, a byproduct of saponification or the process of soap making and transesterification or the production of biodiesel. Glycerol can be accounted for 10% of the byproducts of biodiesel production. Glycerol is also known by its more commercial terms of glycerin and glycerine.

One of the investigations focusing on glycerol was the one conducted by the researchers at the Oxford University. This group of scientists was able to generate biofuel from glycerol, which is considered to be a waste byproduct in many industries. They have designed a method which turns glycerol into methanol. The process uses metal catalyst to separate the methanol. Today, methanol is mostly derived from natural gas. It is used extensively in industrial chemistry.

Another study was one from the Department of Chemical and Environment Engineering at the University of California, Riverside. The process they have developed was one which combined excess glycerin and excess biomass from biodiesel production to produce flammable pellets for use as an alternative to coal.

A study from the Rice University explored the potential of fermenting glycerol to produce ethanol. Since for each gallon of biodiesel produces approximately 0.75 lb of glycerol, this would be a very practical way to produce energy. The use of microorganisms in the fermentation is the unique feature of this research. The Klebsiella and Citrobacter are glycerol-fermenting species of bacteria while E. coli synthesize glycerol through a respiratory pathway.

One study by the controversial and award-winning Galen Suppes, a chemical engineering professor at the University of Missouri, has come up with a procedure to convert glycerine into propylene glycol. Propylene glycol can be used as an alternative to ethylene propyl. Ethylene propyl is used as antifreeze for cars and other automobiles. It is derived from petroleum and is a toxic chemical. Propylene glycol, on the other hand, is a safe and sustainable substitute.

Biodiesel production has resulted to a large surplus of glycerine. Though glycerine is used in nearly all industries, its use for sustainable energy is a relatively new concept but one which has attracted a lot of attention. Glycerol has a lot of potential in the renewable energy industry because it is inexpensive and economically-sound. Moreover, it has beneficial environmental impacts since it help cut down on the emissions of oxides of nitrogen in the atmosphere, reducing air pollution and its associated effects.

Jo is a writer for