Synthesis of mono di tri acetyl glycerols from glycerin technical degree

Abstract

Mono, di, tri acetyl glycerols (MDTAG) were synthesized from technical grade glycerin , as an alternative for the use of glycerol generated by the biodiesel industry. The esterification, was done using molar ratio (acetic acid: glycerin 1:6), at laboratory scale, toluene was added as a dragging agent to periodically remove the water of the reaction. Ion exchange resin was used as a heterogeneous catalyst. MDTAG were characterized using infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The low temperature behavior was analyzed by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). MDTAG obtained experimentally showed excellent performance at temperatures below 0 °C. This result makes MDTAG potentially considered as additives to improve the low-temperature fluidity of biolubricant bases (from modified vegetable oils).