(421am) Syngas Production Using Biodiesel Derived Crude Glycerol

In the past decade, biodiesel production has increased dramatically. One of the major by-products of biodiesel production is crude glycerol. Crude glycerol is a poor fuel and expensive to refine. As a result of this quantity rise, the price of crude glycerin has plummeted in the past five years to the point where biodiesel companies have to pay to dispose of it. This leads to an increased cost of biodiesel production.  To make biodiesel production more cost-effective, it's vital that a use for this crude glycerol is found.  One possible method is using steam reforming techniques to reform crude glycerol derived from biodiesel transesterfication to produce synthesis gas.  This gas can then be converted to jet or diesel fuel by using Fischer-Tropsch principles.  In this study, the effects of the impurities in crude glycerol on catalyst life and activity were compared to pure glycerol reforming.  Although initially showing similar results, the impurities typically found in crude glycerol (specifically KOH) do limit catalyst life over time.  The impurities tended to increase coke and tar formation which impeded flow through the packed bed and reactor.  A simple pre-wash of crude glycerol using acetic acid removed many of the impurities in the glycerol.  The next step in this study will be to look at the catalyst life and activity for acid-washed crude glycerol compared to pure glycerol reforming.