A new route to synthesize tert-butyl ethers of bioglycerol

The excess of bioglycerol from the production of biodiesel finds no profitable use in the already saturated glycerol market. In this paper, the synthesis of 1,3-di-tert-butoxypropan-2-ol as a component for fossil diesel/biodiesel is reported. This new application could add value to the bioglycerol at the same time that it could enhance the properties and environmental performance of biodiesel. The synthesis consists in a three-step process that starts by the transformation of epichlorohydrin, obtained by the transformation of bioglycerol by the new Solvay process. The results of the overall process are satisfactory in terms of selectivity, conversion and yield. A spectroscopic analysis has been carried out, which shows that among the resulting products of the process, 1,3-di-tert-butoxypropan-2-ol is the most abundant and only little amounts of by products are formed, making the overall process technically viable. Also a study of the net carbon dioxide emissions produced by the combustion of this component has been developed.