Glycerin production
Glycerol products are divided into natural glycerol and chemically synthesized glycerol. Natural glycerol mainly uses vegetable oils and animal fats as raw materials to produce the by-products of some products, such as oil saponification to make soap, oil hydrolysis, and oil alcoholization. Synthetic glycerol is produced by chemical synthesis of petrochemical products.
Application of glycerol
Due to its special physical properties and chemical structure, glycerol can be used as synthetic raw material or directly in the industry, medicine, and daily life. It’s reported that glycerin has about 2000 uses, mainly used in medicine, food, cosmetics, alkyd resin, ester products, tobacco, explosives, cellophane, textile printing and dyeing industry, paper industry, the rubber industry and so on.
Glycerin is non-toxic, colorless, sweet and non-irritating. It can be used as a sweetener in the food industry. Glycerol has a low freezing point and good chemical stability. The freezing point of 66.7% glycerol solution is -46.5℃, so glycerol solution is a good antifreeze and refrigerant. The water absorption of glycerin is good, soft sex is good after tobacco, leather classics glycerin handles, mildewy sex is good, a lot of ointment products (wait like toothpaste, balm, medical ointment) can prevent dry knot after adding a certain amount of glycerin; Glycerin is viscous and highly soluble. It is an excellent colorant, wetting agent and solvent in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.
Glycerol has the chemical properties of polyols and can be used as a raw material in many chemical reactions to produce various derivatives. For example, monoglycerides obtained from glycerol and medium and long carbon chain fatty acids are excellent emulsifiers and excipients, which are widely used in food, medicine and personal care industries. Glycerol nitrification can obtain glycerol trinitrate, which is the vasodilator nitroglycerin. Potassium glycerophosphate, sodium glycerophosphate and calcium glycerophosphate, which were prepared from glycerol and phosphoric acid, were used as nutritive drugs. Glycerol and phthalic anhydride, fatty acid or fat condensation polymerization to produce alkyd resin, mainly used as paint, paint, applied in metal protection, furniture, vehicles, construction and other industries; Another important use of glycerin is as a component of polyether, used in the manufacture of polyurethane foam plastics.
The market for glycerin products is complex and volatile, with prices strongly dependent on the global supply of glycerin and middle eastern petroleum products. Europe is the world’s largest producer and consumer of glycerol and its production and price trends reflect the overall changes in the world glycerol market.
In recent years, glycerol production has repeatedly reached new highs. This is due to the policymakers’ vigorous development of biodiesel program in order to reduce the dependence on imported crude oil. Germany alone set a biodiesel blending target of 5.75%, and crude glycerin production soared. Glycerin widely used, but overall demand is not large, difficult to digest a spate of glycerin product the traditional application field, resulting in glycerin excess supply crisis, prices also go down, since 2002, the refined glycerol price has fallen by 20% ~ 40%, and at the same time as glycerin refining capacity is limited, glycerin, market price was once close to zero. The price of glycerol, which had been on the rise since 2008 due to a dramatic rise in the price of oil and other factors of production, has now fallen back to its original low price.
With the rapid development of the oil chemical industry in China, glycerin production has increased greatly, but it cannot meet the domestic demand. In 2007, the total demand for glycerol in the domestic market was about 300,000 tons, among which the import was about 180,000 tons. However, from the perspective of the international market and the long term, glycerol production would be seriously excessive, so it is necessary to study and develop new USES of glycerol as soon as possible.