Characterization of Crude and Purified Glycerol from Biodiesel Production and Purification Techniques
Glycerol is the byproduct of biodiesel production and each 10 kg of biodiesel produce 1kg of crude glycerol. Crude glycerol contained lots of impurities such as soap, methanol, ash, moisture, MONG etc. crude glycerol has a high value added uses and it is necessary to characterized crude glycerol on the basis of chemical and physical properties.The characterization of impurities which are present in crude glycerol and were characterized for the density, moisture content present in glycerol, ash content, alkalinity, glycerol content, metal content and color intensity all are identify by suitable instrument. Analysis of purified glycerol by HPLC and gas chromatography.There are several purification steps to produce high purity glycerol. Techniques used for purification of crude glycerol are series of treatment like chemical pretreatment, methanol removal, vacuum distillation, ion exchange, activated carbon. Crude glycerol contains impurities such as alcohol, spent catalyst, ash, water, and fatty acid that barely differ from crude glycerol in their physical properties. Physicochemical treatment based upon repeated cycles of acidification to the desired pH within the range using acid to allowing phase separation and then harvesting of the glycerol rich followed by neutralization of the harvested glycerol phase with sodium hydroxide and obtain high