Converting waste crude glycerol into butanol economically using ionic liquid extraction

The biodiesel market has grown at a huge rate since 2000, thanks mainly to legislation, rising
costs of fossil fuels and a desire by consumers to become more green and sustainable.
However, in recent years, the scrapping of duty incentives and a revision of the Renewable
Energy Directive has put the biodiesel industry under pressure. Producers need to find ways to
increase efficiency and improve margins. The problem is the transesterification process that
converts oils and fats into biodiesel also yields a by-product of crude glycerol of 10% to 20%
output volume. Crude glycerol is classified as a hazardous waste and has little value because
of oversupply. Our solution is a bioreactor that converts glycerol into a high-value product
(butanol) and uses ILs to enable economic recovery so that biodiesel producers can improve
their margins.