Glycerol ketals: Synthesis and profits in biodiesel blends

Surplus of glycerol due to the increase of biodiesel production has become an economic drawback for the development of biofuel itself. In this work, we show that it is possible to take advantage of glycerol for the synthesis of derivatives such as ketals, which can be used in biodiesel blends. The synthesis of ketals has been successfully carried out in good yields by using a cheap and reusable catalyst, K10 montmorillonite. The analysis of biodiesel blends quality parameters revealed the improvement of their cold properties, but some parameters such as fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) content and oxidation stability do not reached EN14214 specifications. In order to overcome this issue, esterification of the free hydroxyl group has been carried out leading to products with improved and promising properties for biodiesel blends.