Biodiesel Made with from Biodiesel Production By-Product

Researchers at Cardiff University have found a way to increase the yield of biodiesel using the waste from its production process.

Using simple catalysis, researchers led by Cardiff University's Professor Graham Hutchings can recycle the by-product when biodiesel is produced from vegetable oil, and converted into an ingredient to generate more biodiesel. This new process will have significant environmental benefits and could potentially reduce the costs of the biodiesel production. Their results have been published in Nature Chemistry.

Researchers developed a way to turn crude glycerol back to methanol, which could be used to create more biodiesel. To achieve this, the researchers reacted glycerol with water and added a magnesium oxide (MgO) catalyst. The reaction involved a simple one-step process and could be performed using mild conditions.

Using the recycled methanol, the researchers estimate up to a 10 percent increase in biodiesel production. The work is currently in its early stages and researchers will look to optimize the design of the catalyst and significantly increase its activity and selectivity.