Upgrading Used Triglycerides

The Problem

Used vegetable oils and tallows are excellent feedstocks for many types of biofuels and oleochemicals. As these used triglycerides are typically cheaper than virgin oils many biofuel and oleochemical producers are leaning towards the use of these feedstocks. Additionally, worldwide government regulations supporting clean energy applications will see a continued rise in the use of these used triglycerides. However, many of these feedstocks are high in impurities which need to be removed by the refiner before conversion into biofuels or oleochemicals.

Our Solution

GLT partnering with Oleocycle has developed a technology that can remove fatty acids, gums, sulfur and metals from various triglyceride feeds such as used cooking oils and tallows (category 1-2) allowing the production of pure triglyerides for the oleochemical and biofuel sector. This aqueous-based process can be operated under batch or continuous conditions and can be tailored to impurity levels within the used triglyceride. The technology can be used to treat previously inaccessible feedstocks and can also be recycled.

GLT and Oleocycle have also developed a reusable technology dedicated to the removal of sulfur from biodiesel to meet both EU EN14214 and US ASTM D6751 standards.