Purification of Crude Glycerol Using Regenerated Spent Bleaching Earth as Palm Oil Refinery Process
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Spent Bleaching Earth (SBE) is a type of solid waste generated during the palm oil refining process.Several studies have investigated the potential reuse of SBE as a valuable material, particularly as an adsorbent in glycerol purification.Crude glycerol, a by-product of biodiesel and oleochemical production from palm oil, is typically of low quality and contains numerous impurities, including free fatty acids (FFA) and pigmented compounds such as β-carotene and chlorophyll.In this study, SBE was regenerated using various solvents and subsequently calcined at 500 °C for 2 hours.Its surface was further modified with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) to enhance its adsorption capacity.The results showed that SBE regenerated with n-hexane and subjected to calcination exhibited the highest removal efficiency for β-carotene and chlorophyll.Further analysis of the physical and chemical properties of crude glycerol purified using uncalcined, calcined, and CTAB-modified SBE demonstrated that the modified SBE delivered the best adsorbent performance.The purified glycerol using modified SBE had the following characteristics: moisture content (10.3%),Density (1.25 g/cm³), FFA content (1.2%), salt content (4.6%), β-carotene content (0.843 ppm), chlorophyll content (0.11 ppm), and pH approximately 6.
Source: KOVALEN Jurnal Riset Kimia
Authors: Sry Wahyuni, Dinda Rizka Fadhillah
Language: English
Subfield: Water Science and Technology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4413740478