Implementation of a new wetland material for the production of the additive triacetin using biodiesel by-products

Abstract

One of the by-products of the biodiesel industry is crude glycerol. Crude glycerol with the esterification process assisted by the use of heterogeneous catalysts can produce triacetin. Projected biodiesel production until 2030 will reach 50 billion liters. The impact on the amount of by-product produced also continues to increase so it needs to be optimized in further processes. The method started from the preparation of materials, extraction and synthesis of catalysts, purification of crude glycerol and the esterification process. The results of which were then carried out a GC-MS test to determine the selectivity of triacetin. The highest glycerol conversion was obtained in a treatment using a reactant volume ratio of 1:12 with a heterogeneous catalyst of SiO2 derived from orange peel biomass. The conversion value obtained was 97.41% with 100% triacetin selectivity.