Glycerol as additive for fuels - A review

Abstract

Growing environmental concerns, along with the search for renewable energies that emit less CO2, put biodiesel in a favorable position. Biodiesel is commonly produced by the transesterification reaction between vegetable oils and methanol or ethanol, in the presence of a catalyst. With government incentives for biodiesel production in Brazil, there was an exaggerated increase in their production and hence the concern about the disposal of surplus glycerol. Therefore research is being developed with respect to the use of the surplus of glycerol. In this context, emerged as the alternative use of fuel additives, from glycerin to contribute to the development of new applications for innovative and environmentally-friendly processes. The bibliographic review presented here starts with describing the different glycerol production processes, characterization and analysis methods. Next, Glycerol-based processing methods are described, evaluating the main reaction parameters that interfere in process optimization.