Glycerol is a 3-carbon compound produced as a by-product in the production of biodiesel. Although this by-product can be utilized by the food, pharmaceutical and personal hygiene industries, excess amounts of glycerol would remain unutilized as the demand for biodiesel production increases. In order to address the anticipated ”glycerol glut”, scientists have been finding ways to obtain value added products from glycerol. Recently, scientists from Virginia Tech (United States) reported the biological conversion of glycerol into omega-3-fatty-acid-enriched algae for fish feed. Omega-3 fatty acids have been reported to have many health benefits. The omega-3 enriched algal feed can then be used to cultivate fish with high omega-3 fatty acid content for human consumption. The micro algae, Schizochytrium limacinum, was shown to utilize crude glycerol effluents from biodiesel production to produce the omega-3 fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The nutritional profile of the algal biomass grown in crude glycerol was also found to be similar to glucose-derived commercial algal biomass. The results of the study were presented by Virginia Tech Assistant Professor Zhiyou Wen at 236th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS)..