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Thermal stability and water content determination of glycerol by thermogravimetry

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Abstract

During the last years, the demand for biofuels has increased significantly. In Brazil, a production of 1 billion liters of biodiesel was produced by the end of 2007, due to its obligatory use in the composition of the diesel for vehicle use. In this production, a hundred thousand tons of glycerol are produced as by-product, for which alternative uses are needed. As glycerol has already been studied by other conventional characterization methods in the past, thermal analysis has been used mostly for characterization of sub ambient temperature properties of glycerol. In this paper, thermogravimetry (TG), derivative thermogravimetry (DTG) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) were used for its thermal characterization above room temperature. Thermal stability was determined from experimental data, which show that even in air, only a very small part of the volatilized glycerol is burned out. A thermogravimetric quantitative method was developed to determinate the water content of glycerol–water mixtures, which also was used to quantify the water impurity in pro-analysis samples of glycerol, showing compatible results with those obtained by Karl Fischer method.

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Acknowledgements

Our acknowledgements to the Brazilian Research Council (CNPq), the Chemical School of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), and to the Fluminense Federal Institute – campus Macaé.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemical School, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Bloco E of CT, Rooms E-206 e E-211, Cidade Universitária Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 212949-900, Brazil

    Margarida L. Castelló, Jo Dweck & Donato A. G. Aranda

  2. Fluminense Federal Institute – Campus Macaé. Rod. Amaral Peixoto, Km. 164, Imboassica, Macaé, RJ, 27925-290, Brazil

    Margarida L. Castelló

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  1. Margarida L. Castelló
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  2. Jo Dweck
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Correspondence to Margarida L. Castelló.

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Castelló, M.L., Dweck, J. & Aranda, D.A.G. Thermal stability and water content determination of glycerol by thermogravimetry. J Therm Anal Calorim 97, 627–630 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-009-0070-z

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