Patent ID: 8822737

Claim:
A method of producing a solid glycerol derived material, the method comprising the step of adding wet glycerol produced as a by-product of the production of biodiesel or from a source of wet glycerol and a metal oxide into a reaction vessel for combining therein, the metal oxide optionally containing a metal hydroxide, the glycerol having a water content of between about 5 and 50%, and the molar ratio rate of the metal oxide to the water being between 0.1 and 10 so that an exothermic reaction is produced in which at least part of the water present in the glycerol reacts with the metal oxide in the exothermic reaction and at least part is driven off by heat produced in the exothermic reaction to produce the solid glycerol derived material, wherein the content of glycerol in said solid glycerol derived material is at least 44.9% (w/w).