Sustainable upgrading of glycerol into glycidol and its derivatives under continuous-flow conditions

Abstract

This study presents a continuous-flow process for the valorization of glycerol, a byproduct of the biofuel industry, into glycidol and its derivatives. The method ensures safety and allows for easy production of glycidol on a gram scale, even in the presence of hazardous substances such as hydrogen chloride and acetic acid. Moreover, this continuous-flow method can be easily integrated with downstream synthetic steps to produce value-added derivatives, which have potential applications in the fields of medicinal and polymer chemistry. The comprehensive evaluation of sustainability metrics, encompassing green indicators, a techno-economic analysis, and a life cycle assessment, substantiates the environmental benefits of the technology, and showed that the method is environmentally friendly and has the potential to enhance efficiency, safety, and sustainability in industrial processes.