Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 22, 2026

Ultrasonic-Assisted Preparation of Biodiesel Products from Vegetable Oils
Published on: April 19, 2024
Characterization of crude glycerol from biodiesel plants
Shengjun Hu1, Xiaolan Luo, Caixia Wan
1Department of Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering, The Ohio State University/Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center , 1680 Madison Avenue, Wooster, Ohio 44691-4096, United States.
Abstract:
Characterization of crude glycerol is very important to its value-added conversion. In this study, the physical and chemical properties of five biodiesel-derived crude glycerol samples were determined. Three methods, including iodometric-periodic acid method, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and gas chromatography (GC), were shown to be suitable for the determination of glycerol content in crude glycerol. The compositional analysis of crude glycerol was successfully achieved by crude glycerol fractionation and characterization of the obtained fractions (aqueous and organic) using titrimetric, HPLC, and GC analyses. The aqueous fraction consisted mainly of glycerol, methanol, and water, while the organic fraction contained fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs), free fatty acids (FFAs), and glycerides. Despite the wide variations in the proportion of their components, all raw crude glycerol samples were shown to contain glycerol, soap, methanol, FAMEs, water, glycerides, FFAs, and ash.
More Related Videos
09:10Experimental Protocol for Biodiesel Production with Isolation of Alkenones as Coproducts from Commercial Isochrysis Algal Biomass
Published on: June 24, 2016
11:33Laboratory Production of Biofuels and Biochemicals from a Rapeseed Oil through Catalytic Cracking Conversion
Published on: September 2, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Biofuels
Lipid Catabolism
Biosynthesis of Lipids
Structure and Nomenclature of Alcohols and Phenols
Alcohols are one of the most important functional groups in organic chemistry. The name of alcohol comes from the hydrocarbon from which it is derived. Alcohols are organic molecules containing the functional hydroxyl or –OH group directly bonded to carbon. Phenols have an OH group directly attached to a benzene ring. While alcohols are colorless, phenol is a white crystalline compound with a characteristic "hospital smell" odor.
As with other organic compounds, alcohols and phenols...
Esters to Carboxylic Acids: Saponification
The reaction requires a base in stoichiometric amounts, which participates in the reaction and is not regenerated later. So, the base acts as a...