STUDIES ON PURIFICATION OF CRUDE GLYCEROL OBTAINED AS BYPRODUCT FROM BIODIESEL PLANT FOR CONVERSION TO VALUE ADDED PRODUCTS
Crude glycerol is obtained as byproduct from biodiesel production, which accounts for about 10% (by wt) of the biodiesel produced. Glycerol, a byproduct from biodiesel plant has less commercial value and its disposal in environment is hazardous in nature. Conversion of crude glycerol into value added products is also important for economic sustainability of the biodiesel industries. Therefore crude glycerol can be considered as waste organic material with potential to be used as raw material for production of value added products and as a raw material for bio energy production. The composition of crude glycerol varies according to the biodiesel production methods. In order to identify the properties of crude glycerol and the treatment methods to purify it, the characteristics of crude glycerol such as density, alkalinity, ash content, water content were studied. The alkalinity test of the sample revealed that crude glycerol was basic in nature. Therefore, crude glycerol was subjected to a series of treatment steps such as acidification, extraction and adsorption.