Microbial Conversion of Raw Glycerol in to Value Added Products : A cost cutting technology for biodiesel production

Renewable energy sources and biofuel, including biodiesel, have been gaining increasing attention recently as a replacement for fossil fuels. However, their implementation in the general market depends on making these fuels more competitive. A convenient way to lower the cost of biofuel is to use the by-products as a potential source of energy, rather than treating them as waste. The industrial conversion of renewable resources into useful compounds, namely bio-based materials, has been receiving much attention from the environmental point of view. The crude glycerol from biodiesel production represents an abundant and inexpensive carbon source. Glycerol is yielded at about 10% as a by-product during the process of biodiesel production. The global biodiesel market is estimated to reach 39 billion gallons by 2020, growing at an average annual growth of 42%. Therefore, microbial conversion of raw glycerol into value added fermented products were investigated aiming to facilitate the utilization of waste glycerol.