Sustainable production of industrial chemical products from bioresources

In this work, we present the preliminary results from a study of the development of processes to produce industrially important chemical from sustainble, bio-based glycerol. The objective of this work is to identify potential industrial uses for the glycerol produced as a side product of the manufacture of biodiesel from fatty acids. Systematic process systems engineering tools such as process simulation and pinch analysis are employed to target economically viable production pathways. In this way, potential process and product options can be evaluated so that further research and development can be focused on candidates with the greatest economic potential. Commercially available software packages are used to develop mass and energy balances for the proposed conceptual processes, determine the minimum utility requirements using thermal pinch analysis and analyze the economic potential of switching production from crude oil derived to sustainable, bio-based feed stocks.