Top Products - Avoiding Explosions in the Chemical Industry With Nitrogen

High-Purity Raw Materials from the By-Products of Biodiesel Production
Producing diesel from plant-based raw materials creates unwanted by-products. Glaconchemie takes such by-products off of biodiesel manufacturers’ hands and uses them to develop high-purity raw materials. Glaconchemie uses self-produced nitrogen to overlay the production steps during further processing.

In Germany, biodiesel is produced almost exclusively from rapeseed. The seeds of the oil-containing plant are ground and pressed to this end. Finally, the vegetable oil obtained – which is not yet suitable for use in diesel engines – is chemically converted during "transesterification". The rapeseed oil is stirred in an agitator tank with heat exchanger for a few hours at approx. 50 to 65 °C. Methanol is also added. The mixture ultimately cools down in a settling tank and separates into two phases at this point. The lighter crude biodiesel floats at the top of the tank, while glycerine accumulates at the bottom. The glycerine is produced during transesterification from the triacylglycerides contained in the rapeseed.