As the production of US biodiesel grinds to a halt,the demand for glycerine (and consequently the price) will likely soar in 2010.Glycerine is used in a wide array of products from toothpaste to polyols.
The biodiesel industry is the main source of crude glycerine which is manufactured as a byproduct of the renewable fuel.Now that biodiesel refiners are shutting down due to a delay in extending government price subsidies,crude glycerine production has all but dried up.
Yet another factor in the equation is the fact the Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is expected to start up its newly constructed propylene glycol plant sometime in the first quarter of 2010.The plant will use as a feed stock crude glycerine.