Solution 2 · Scaling now
Crude glycerine has no economic pathway today. The same reactor that makes hydrogen from water converts it into formates and clean hydrogen, on site, in one continuous process.
The chemistry
Every tonne of biodiesel produced leaves roughly a hundred kilogrammes of crude glycerine behind. Today it has no economic or circular pathway, and disposal is a cost. The Supercritical electrochemical platform converts it directly into potassium formate and hydrogen in a single continuous process, at the biodiesel plant.
Formates are the family. Named precisely, the members are potassium formate (the salt), methyl formate (the ester) and formic acid (the acid) — each with its own established market, all reachable from the same feedstock.
Why it works on crude feedstock
Crude glycerine is dirty. It carries salts, methanol, soaps and free fatty acids. A membrane-based system has to clean all of that out before the feedstock can go anywhere near the cell, and that purification is often the step that kills the economics.
Our platform's membraneless architecture needs only basic filtration and stream conditioning. That is what makes on-site conversion at a biodiesel plant realistic rather than theoretical, and it is a direct consequence of the platform architecture rather than anything specific to this feedstock.
Products & applications
Runway and road de-icer, where potassium formate is a non-toxic alternative in ecologically sensitive environments. Heat-transfer fluids. Synthetic leather and textiles. Agrochemicals, low-carbon feed additives and pharmaceutical intermediates.
Formates are C1 chemicals, and C1 chemistry is where the chemical refinery is going. Single-carbon building blocks are the starting point for a great deal of what a fossil-based petrochemical refinery makes today, which is why the family matters well beyond its current markets. We are working with partners on the conversion steps that follow.
Glycolates are the other speciality chemical reachable from the same feedstock — same reactor, different operating point. See the glycolates pathway →
Interactive model
The selectivity explorer lets you move the operating point and watch the product split shift between formates and glycolates in real time.
Case study
In developmentThe UK biodiesel industry generates tens of thousands of tonnes of crude glycerine annually as a byproduct. Currently a disposal liability, Supercritical's electrochemical platform transforms it into formates, a high-value family of chemicals, alongside clean hydrogen. A dual-revenue stream that makes green chemistry cost-competitive without subsidy dependency.