Comparison of techno-economic analysis of 1,3-propanediol production from crude glycerol via chemical and biological methods

Abstract

At present, the biodiesel industry is expanding rapidly which could lead to an oversupply of the by-product, crude glycerol. To manage this, crude glycerol should be converted into value-added chemicals such as 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO). In this study, the production of 1,3-PDO via catalytic reaction is simulated using a process simulator to evaluate its techno-economic performance as well as its environmental impact. The obtained results will be compared with the conventional production of 1,3-PDO to point out the advantages that the catalytic reaction can offer in terms of economic, energy utilization, raw material utilization, and environmental impacts.