glycerin

Plantations International News Researchers from Cardiff Catalysis Institute in Wales have developed a way to increase the yield of biodiesel by using simple catalysis to convert glycerin from the transesterification process into methanol. The researchers reacted glycerin with water, to provide hydrogen, with a magnesium oxide (MgO) catalyst. The reaction involved a simple one-step process and could be performed using mild conditions. Since biodiesel is formed by reacting fats, oils and greases with methanol, the researchers estimate up to a 10 percent increase in biodiesel production when using methanol produced from crude glycerin. In addition, the newly gained methanol is derived from [...]