Welcome to American Specialty Glycerin! This plant is designed to encompass crude distillation and glycerin bleaching, producing USP pharma grade glycerin. The plant consists of a pre-dryer, a structured packing distillation column, and a continuous bleaching unit. The process incorporates two post-addition stills for residue recovery, and can be modified to be capable of running “all vegetable” based biodiesel crude once a precut column is installed to remove methanol. The glycerin produced will be in accordance with pharmaceutical glycerin specifications, with a concentration of 99.8% glycerin minimum.
Refinery Overview
The Background
Glycerin (also called glycerol and glycerine) is a colorless, odorless, viscous, water-soluble liquid with slightly
sweet taste. It is a three carbon alcohol which serves as the backbone of the triglyceride molecule.
The Plant and Equipment
The following details are obtained from the manufacturer Lurgi AG, a subsidiary of Air Liquide.
The Market
ABG, Inc., an Adayana company, in conjunction with the United States Soybean Export Council has completed a research study of the glycerin market. The team gathered historical data related to the domestic glycerin market including domestic production and prices.
The Supply
Glycerin is a byproduct of the industrial soap manufacturing process (saponification). Modern soap manufacturers use fatty acids and sodium hydroxide as an input. Fatty acids for soap are manufactured through the process of hydrolysis (fat splitting).
The Customers
According to the Soap and Detergent Association, there are over 1,500 uses for glycerin. The uses range from energy bars to cough syrups to protective boat coatings.
