Refined Glycerine 99,6% Min (Soya Based)

Brief Overview

Refined Glycerine, also known as glycerol or glycerin, is a simple straight-chain sugar alcohol that has three hydroxyl groups, which results in water solubility and hygroscopicity of glycerin. This is a clear, colorless, odorless, high boiling, viscous liquid. It is naturally sweet and has low toxicity. It has a typical melting point and boiling point of 17.8°C and 290°C, respectively. Refined Glycerine density is 1.26 g/cm³. It comes from petrochemical feedstock. Due to its low toxicity and environmental friendliness, it is used in many applications such as food, medicine, cosmetics, and personal care items. It is also a versatile and valuable product from biodiesel production.  Soy Bean is also a common material used as the base of Refined Glycerine productions.

Manufacturing Process

Cleaning

During the initial phase, the soybeans are cleaned to prevent any impurities from going into the processing. The hull of the beans are cracked open and removed as the skin absorbs the oil.

Extraction

The soybeans are cut into smaller flakes for further extraction. Hexane is added through a counter flow extraction system to dissolve soybean oil. The leftover flakes are used for animal feed and other soybean products. The mixture of oil is evaporated to remove the hexane for further processing. Next, the remaining oil is filtered to remove any solid residue left from the previous process. Any dissolved impurities are removed by the degumming process.

Degumming

The degumming process of soybean oil is the removal of dissolved phosphatides through centrifugation. Water is added to the oil that allows the precipitation of phosphatides. The newly formed precipitate is heavier as phosphatides readily absorb water. The centrifugation process separates the heavy phosphatides from the oil phase to the water phase.

Deacidification

The soybean oil is deacidified by solvent extraction method. The oil is mixed in methanol and agitated for further mixing. The existing free fatty acid in the oil will dissolve readily in methanol and decrease the concentration in the oil. As free fatty acid is the cause of the oxidation and unpleasant scent of the oil, it is important to remove the unnecessary free fatty acid in soybean oil. 
 

Transeferication/Saponification

The deacidified soybean oil is broken down via hydrolysis. The process requires water to seperate the chains of triglycerides into glycerol/glycerine and fatty acid under high temperature and pressure. Hence, glycerine becomes available for extraction in this step.  

Glycerin pre-treatment

The mixture of glycerine and chain of fatty acids is further refined by distillation. The oil mixture is distilled to separate the fatty acids from the desired glycerine. The distillation column is heated to reach glycerin’s boiling point. Glycerine has lower boiling point; hence, glycerine will evaporate leaving fatty acid as liquid in the column.

Evaporation

The glycerine extraction is not completed since methanol is still present from the deacidification process; therefore, evaporating the methanol from the glycerine is required to produce a readily refined glycerine.

Pharmaceuticals Industry

Glycerine is widely used as a raw material for pharmaceutical purposes. The chemical compound has contributed to heart medication, suppositories, cough remedies and anesthetics. In addition, glycerine has a laxative properties that are able to improve digested food to flow smoothly along the lining of the stomach. In athletics, glycerine drink is used to help water hydration in athletes due to the loss during exercise.

Cosmetic Industry

In cosmetic products, glycerine retains water to maintain product softness, creaminess, and storage life.  Glycerin’s low vapor pressure allows the compound to persist when moisture continuously releases to the surroundings.

Food Industry

In athletics, glycerine drink is used to help water hydration in athletes during exercise. It is also mainly used as a raw ingredient to be a sweetener.

Industrial Applications

Glycerine has been recently researched to provide an intermediary product for fuel additives. Fuel additives are used to decrease harmful emission by utilizing oxygenated glycerin derivative fuel additives. On the other hand, the lubricating properties of glycerine are used to enhance machine performance and reduce friction. The friction reduction allows heat to dissipate and prevent machinery from overheating. In addition, the economic viability of utilizing glycerin is another reason for to be used as a chemical intermediate and industrial applications.