Technical and Economic Analysis for the Production of Acrylonitrile from Crude Glycerol

Abstract Glycerol is the main by‐product of biodiesel plants, and new technological routes using it as a raw material are being developed due to the increased global production of biofuels. One possible application is in the production of acrylonitrile, a product with several industrial applications. Here, the production process of acrylonitrile using crude glycerol is proposed and analyzed. The process is shown to be economically viable, requiring an operating time of 5 years to achieve a net present value/investment ratio greater than 2 and an internal rate of return greater than 10 % per annum. The new process was found to be competitive compared to the current route (through propylene ammoxidation), supporting the development of new studies on this new route.