With the domestic crude glycerin market reaching its saturation point and the prices of crude glycerin currently at an all time low, glycerin purification will no longer be an option for biodiesel plants but rather more of a business necessity. Further purification and refinement of crude glycerin, increases it’s market value thus making it more appealing to potential buyers. Unlike many of our competitor’s biodiesel process equipment, glycerin refining system will produce technical grade glycerin (>97% purity) as opposed to the average in the biodiesel industry which ranges between an 80 and 90% purity range.
| Properties | Crude Glycerin | Technical Grade Glycerin | 99.7 -USP Grade Glycerin |
| Glycerol Content | 40 – 88% | 98.0 Min | 99.70% |
| Ash | 2.0% Max | N/A | N/A |
| Moisture Content | N/A | 2.0% Max | 0.3% Max |
| Chlorides | N/A | 10 ppm Max | 10 ppm Max |
| Color | N/A | 40 Max (Pt – Co) | 10 Max. (APHA) |
| Specific Gravity | N/A | 1.262 (@25C) | 1.2612 Min |
| Sulfate | N/A | N/A | 20 ppm Max |
| Assay | N/A | N/A | 99.0 – 101.0% (on dry basis) |
| Heavy Metals | N/A | 5 ppm Max | 5 ppm Max |
| Chlorinated Compounds | N/A | 30 ppm Max | 30 ppm Max |
| Residue on Ignition | N/A | N/A | 100 ppm Max |
| Fatty Acid & Ester | N/A | 1.00 Max | 1.000 Max |
| Water | 12.0% Max | 5.0% Max | 0.5% Max |
| pH (10% Solution) | 4.0 – 9.0 | 4.0 – 9.1 | N/A |
| DEG and Related Compounds |
N/A |
N/A |
Pass |
| Organic Volatile Impurities | N/A | N/A | Pass |
| Organic Residue | 2.0% Max | 2.0% Max | N/A |
What are the differences between Crude Glycerin, Technical Grade Glycerin, and 99.7 – USP Grade Glycerin?
Crude Glycerin – Crude glycerin contains a significant amount of methanol, water, soaps, and salts and typically has a glycerol content of anywhere between
40 to 88%. Crude glycerol is a natural by-product produced during the biodiesel production process, specifically taking place during transesterification.
Technical Grade Glycerin – Technical grade glycerin is a refined, high-purity product that is water white with most of its contaminants completely removed. Technical grade glycerin contains no methanol, soaps, salts, and other foreign matter.
USP Grade Glycerin – USP Grade Glycerin is a pharmaceutical grade glycerin suitable for food, personal care, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and other specialty applications. All of these products have met the US Pharmacopeia specifications (USP 30).
PLEASE NOTE: Be leery of any company claiming to produce USP Grade glycerin as these companies MUST be registered and controlled by the FDA. Many companies make false claims of producing USP grade glycerin when in fact, they cannot and should not make such claims without being governed by the Federal Government.
What classifies glycerin as USP Grade?
To be called USP Grade Glycerin companies are closely regulated with regards to their manufacturing facility, testing methods, inspections, distribution, and warehousing. True USP Grade Glycerin follows strict rules and guidelines set forth by the FDA. The FDA requires that all domestic companies distributing USP Grade Glycerin must be registered and listed unless they qualify for exemption. The same applies for USP Glycerin originating from a foreign manufacturing facility going to an importer in the states. In this instance, FDA compliance by both parties is still a requirement.
FDA regulations also require systematic and complete record keeping by all USP glycerin manufacturers. They must have supporting documentation at all times for every shipment providing lot numbers and permits tracing back to the plant it was produced in.
USP Grade Glycerin assures buyers of the product’s integrity which cannot be achieving through physical and chemical testing alone. On the flip side, Technical Grade Glycerin is not subject to such governmental regulatory control. Although produced by similar processes, Technical Grade Glycerin does not need to comply with USP and FCC requirements or FDA regulations. This grade of glycerin only needs to conform to the specifications mutually agreed upon by the buyer and seller.
