Monoglyceride and monoglyceride derivatives from glycerol generated in catfish based biodiesel production process

Abstract

Glycerol is a major byproduct in the biodiesel manufacturing process which causes environmental problem since glycerol cannot be released without treatment. In this study, crude glycerol was refined into a pure form by using phosphoric acid. Esterification of the purified glycerol with oleic acid afforded glycerol monooleate in 43% yield using p-toluenesulfonic acid as a catalyst. The obtained glycerol monooleate was then allowed to react with lactic acid, acetic acid or diacetyl tartaric acid to provide the corresponding lactylated, acetylated or diacetyl tartarylated glycerol monooleate, respectively, in reasonable yields. These ester derivatives of monoglycerides have been known to be the most commonly used food surfactants.