Industrial glycerin

Crude Glycerin

Our crude glycerin is a byproduct of the biodiesel industry. It is a viscous, sweet-smelling liquid with a brown color. It is commonly used in the production of soap, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.

Key details

Category: Industrial glycerin
Typical purity: Approx. 80% glycerin concentration

What is crude glycerin?

Crude glycerin is glycerin in a lower-purity form. In chemical composition it is the same as glycerol, which is also known as propanetriol regardless of purity. It consists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms bonded as C3H5(OH)3.

Therefore, we cannot conclude from the formula alone whether a chemical compound with the chemical formula C3H5(OH)3 is highly pure pharmaceutical grade glycerin or a less pure crude glycerin.

By-product, not a residual waste

Crude glycerin is not contaminated or unusable. Its role and value are defined by its production process. A large quantity of glycerin is generated during biodiesel production. In vegetable oils such as rapeseed or palm, glycerin represents approximately 10%. After initial processing, crude glycerin typically has a purity of around 80%, and it remains a by-product.

The extent of distillation and condensation determines how much it is purified and therefore renamed. Crude glycerin contains higher water content (typically 10–15%) and often includes other substances, including around 2–8% crude ash. After further chemical processing, it can be used as a valuable raw material in chemical, pharmaceutical, and food industries, with final glycerin quality reaching up to 99.9%.

What are the properties of crude glycerin?

Pure glycerin is colorless and sweet, while less pure glycerol is typically brown and can vary in shade. In crude glycerin, the sweet taste of pure glycerol is masked by higher salt content. The product still shares the same core properties of glycerol, it dissolves in water and absorbs moisture.

Because of lower purity, crude glycerin is primarily used for industrial applications and is not suitable for pharmaceutical or food production, where at least 99.5% purity is required. In agriculture it is used for feeding cattle and fattening pigs, as it is very high in energy and much less expensive than pure glycerin. It is also used as a technological additive in the production of animal feed and as a single feed-stuff. However, only glycerin with a degree of purity of 80 per cent is suitable as animal feed. White list rules since 2006 require that it was gained from vegetable fats and oils.

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