Market · Glycerine
Crude glycerine buyers and suppliers: grades, specifications and who takes what
Search for "glycerine buyers" and you mostly get lead boards full of anonymous buy requests. In reality a crude glycerine lot has a handful of possible homes, and its analysis decides which one. This page explains the grades, the parameters that move an offer, and the buyer and supplier types behind each.
One molecule, three commercial doors
Glycerine (glycerin in US spelling; glycerol; CAS 56-81-5) is a coproduct of biodiesel production (transesterification) and of oleochemical fat splitting. What leaves the plant is rarely what a pharmaceutical buyer wants.
| Grade | Typical public range | Customs | Who takes it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crude | Roughly 40 to 88% glycerol, with methanol, water, ash (salts) and MONG | HS 1520 00 00 | Glycerine refiners; biogas plants; some feed use; traders |
| Technical | About 95 to 99.7% after distillation; not a pharmacopoeia grade | HS 2905 45 00 | Chemical synthesis (for example epichlorohydrin and bio-based propylene glycol), resins, antifreeze and de-icing, some oleochemistry |
| Refined USP / EP / food | 99.0 to 101% on an anhydrous basis; tested for water, chlorides, diethylene glycol, colour, heavy metals | HS 2905 45 00 | Food, pharmaceuticals, personal care, via producers and distributors |
| Glycerine water | Low glycerol, high water | Often still 1520 | Biogas substrate |
"Technical" versus "USP" is a claim and a test suite, not a different molecule. A 99.7% product sold for chemical synthesis can still be technical grade.
The parameters that move a crude offer
| Parameter | Why buyers care |
|---|---|
| Glycerol content | Yield for a refiner. Refiners generally prefer about 80% and above. |
| MONG (matter organic non-glycerol) | Soaps, fatty acids, esters and glycerides that must be removed; a high MONG lowers value |
| Methanol | Safety, refining cost and feed eligibility; refiners want it low |
| Ash / salts | Catalyst residues that make distillation harder |
| Water | Dilutes glycerol and adds freight |
| Origin | Vegetable oil, animal fat or UCO feedstock can matter for certain end uses and claims |
Biogas plants are looser on specification and price crude glycerine as an energy substrate. Feed use has its own limits on methanol and MONG under the EU feed materials catalogue. OxyLens does not publish a universal intake specification, because none exists publicly: a plant's limits belong on its certificate of analysis, not on a web page.
Customs codes are useful here
Unlike used cooking oil, glycerine has a clean split: 1520 00 00 for crude (below 95% purity on a dry basis) and 2905 45 00 for glycerol of 95% and above. That makes country-level trade statistics a reasonable benchmark for crude versus refined flows. Two limits remain: the codes never name companies, and 2905 45 mixes vegetable-derived refined glycerine with synthetic glycerol.
Who buys crude glycerine
| Buyer type | Wants | Evidence to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Glycerine refiner | Higher-glycerol crude, low methanol and salts | Explicit offtake of biodiesel glycerine; sells refined or technical grades |
| Trader with storage | Standard crude (often around 80%) | Stocks crude and refined; publishes grades |
| Chemical and BioPG producers | Crude or technical, depending on process | Glycerine named as a feedstock for propylene glycol or epichlorohydrin |
| Biogas plants | Energy content; tolerant of low grades | Glycerine listed as a co-digestion substrate |
| Feed producers | Feed-eligible crude within catalogue limits | Feed material listings |
Many refiners and oleochemical groups both buy crude and sell refined. OxyLens records that as two roles on one company, a role reversal, rather than calling the company "a supplier" or "a buyer".
Refined glycerine buyers are a different market, served by producers and chemical distributors in drums, IBCs and tankers.
Who supplies it, and why "produces" is not "sells"
- Biodiesel (FAME) plants produce crude glycerine by definition. Some sell it, some refine it themselves, and some use it on site, for example in biogas or bio-based propylene glycol.
- Oleochemical fat splitters produce glycerine together with fatty acids: one process, two merchant products.
- Refiners and traders sell technical and refined grades.
- HVO, SAF and co-processing plants do not make glycerine. Hydrotreating is not transesterification.
Because production does not prove merchant supply, OxyLens records "produces glycerine" and "sells glycerine" as separate statements, each with its own evidence and status.
Prices
Crude and refined glycerine prices are assessed by price reporting agencies, behind subscriptions. OxyLens does not copy or invent price numbers. It focuses on who can take or supply a given grade.
By country
Country source maps for glycerine: reviewed sources, the questions for a first call and, where reviewed, named examples.
Selling crude glycerine?
If your plant makes crude glycerine and you want buyers, tell us where it is loaded and how much you have. OxyLens counts these entries to decide which buyer research to build next.
Poland: a mapped source market
OxyLens has mapped evidenced plants that make or refine glycerine in Poland, with storage intermediaries shown separately. The source records show legal operator, physical site where supported, grade, dated activity and a published contact where available. See glycerine suppliers in Poland.
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