We broker crude, technical and refined glycerine between biodiesel producers and the refiners, oleochemical plants and biogas operators who take it. On what decides the price: five numbers, and an offer without them is an enquiry rather than an offer. Glycerol content, water, ash, MONG and residual methanol. On the paperwork, crude glycerine sits in Annex IX Part A, which a surprising number of producers still treat as a disposal problem.
- 1Transesterification at the plant
- 2Crude glycerine drawn off
- 3Methanol stripped, salt and MONG measured
- 4Refined to technical or pharmaceutical grade
- 5Chemical outlet, or energy if it does not pay
Crude glycerine trades on what it still contains: MONG, ash, methanol and water. Refining only pays when the spread to technical grade covers it, otherwise the barrel goes to combustion or digestion.
Two products, several markets
The gap between crude and refined is refining capacity, and it is not evenly distributed. A producer sitting near a refiner has options a producer in the wrong location does not, which is often worth more than a point of purity.
- Crude glycerine, typically around 80 % glycerol, straight from transesterification. Carries salts, methanol and organic residue. Outlets: advanced biofuel and biogas routes, glycerine refiners, and industrial use.
- Technical and refined glycerine, typically 99 % and above, after refining and distillation. Outlets: chemicals, resins, antifreeze, personal care, tobacco humectants and animal feed.
- USP and pharmaceutical grade, the highest specification, with its own documentation requirements and a much narrower buyer list.
Crude, technical and refined, and the gap between them
Glycerine is sold in three broad conditions and they are barely the same trade. Crude glycerine comes off a biodiesel plant as a co-product and is priced as a problem to be solved; refined glycerine is a pharmacopoeia-grade chemical. The distance between them is a refinery, and it shows in the price.
| Parameter | Crude (biodiesel co-product) | Refined USP / EP |
|---|---|---|
| Glycerol content | 80 % min is the common basis; 85 and 88 % also trade | 99.5 % min |
| Water | Roughly 10 to 15 % | Per pharmacopoeia |
| Ash | 2 to 8 % | Effectively nil |
| Salt (NaCl or K salts) | Up to about 4 % | Effectively nil |
| Methanol | Below 0.5 % in well-stripped material | Nil |
| MONG (matter organic non-glycerol) | The line that decides the discount | Not applicable |
| pH | Stated on the offer; alkaline unless neutralised | Per pharmacopoeia |
| Colour | Dark, variable | Water white |
MONG is the number that gets argued about. It is everything organic that is not glycerol: soaps, residual esters, free fatty acid carry-over. A refiner prices high-MONG material down hard because it is what fouls the process, so a seller quoting only glycerol content is quoting half the specification.
Methanol matters for a different reason. Above roughly half a percent it turns a routine bulk liquid into a classification and transport question, and that is a conversation to have before the truck is booked rather than at the gate. The same applies to whether the material is palm, rapeseed, soy or mixed origin, because the certification route follows the feedstock.
What buyers screen on
| Glycerol content (purity) | Percentage. The headline number: roughly 80 % for crude, 99 %+ for refined grades. |
|---|---|
| MONG | Matter organic non-glycerol. The organic impurity load, and the key indicator of refining difficulty. |
| Ash / salt content | Sodium or potassium salts from the catalyst. Drives refining cost and rules out some outlets outright. |
| Methanol | Residual from transesterification. A safety, transport and classification issue as much as a quality one. |
| Water content | Settlement weight and processing yield. |
| pH | Handling, storage and materials compatibility. |
| Colour | APHA or Gardner. Matters most for refined and technical grades. |
| Chlorides and sulphates | Corrosion and downstream process impact. |
| Feedstock origin | Vegetable, animal or used cooking oil origin. Decides certification and, for some outlets, acceptability. |
| Certification | ISCC EU where the glycerine is heading into the biofuel or biogas chain. |
| Heavy metals, DEG/MEG | For refined, food and pharmaceutical grades. |
The Annex IX angle worth knowing
Crude glycerine sits in Annex IX Part A at point (i) in Directive (EU) 2018/2001. Part A is the advanced category, which is a different and generally more favourable position than the Part B category that used cooking oil and category 1 and 2 animal fats occupy under a 1.7 % cap.
This matters because a good deal of crude glycerine is still sold as a low-value disposal problem by producers who treat it as waste from the biodiesel plant rather than as a listed advanced feedstock. Where the certification supports it, the biogas and advanced biofuel routes can pay materially better than the industrial default.
Annex IX has been amended since 2018, so confirm the current letter before writing it into a contract. The full lists are on our Annex IX reference page.
What a glycerine buyer will ask you
We act for biodiesel and oleochemical producers with continuous co-product to place, and for refiners, biogas operators and chemical buyers sourcing it. Glycerine production does not stop while a seller shops for a better number, so most of what we do here is term rather than spot: a reliable home for every batch, with the analysis, certification and tank logistics agreed once.
The grades, and the one number that decides the price
Glycerine is sold across a very wide quality range and the words people use for it are loose. What is not loose is the arithmetic.
| Crude glycerine | Straight from the biodiesel reactor. Typically 50 to 85 percent glycerol, with water, methanol, catalyst salts and MONG making up the rest. The 80 percent plus material trades readily; below that the conversation gets harder quickly. |
|---|---|
| Technical grade | Purified, commonly around 98 to 99 percent, for industrial use where pharmacopoeia compliance is not required. |
| Refined / USP / pharmacopoeia | Over 99.5 percent, for pharmaceutical, food and personal care use. A different market with different qualification requirements. |
| MONG | Matter Organic Non-Glycerol, and the number that most often decides whether a parcel moves. Calculated rather than measured directly: MONG = 100 minus glycerol, minus water, minus ash. ISO 2464 covers the calculation. It sweeps up free fatty acids, mono and diglycerides and everything else organic that is not glycerol. |
| Methanol | Residual from the transesterification. Well processed material keeps it below about 0.5 percent. It matters for classification and transport as well as for the buyer's process. |
| Ash | Catalyst salts, sodium or potassium depending which alkoxide the plant runs. See additives and blending on why that choice was made upstream. |
The practical read: a crude glycerine offer without glycerol content, water, ash, MONG and methanol on it is not an offer, it is an enquiry. Those five figures let a buyer calculate what they are actually paying for, and supplying them unprompted marks you out immediately.
Frequently asked questions
What is MONG in glycerine and why does everyone ask about it?
MONG is Matter Organic Non-Glycerol: everything organic in the parcel that is not glycerol, such as free fatty acids and mono and diglycerides. It is calculated rather than measured, as 100 minus glycerol, minus water, minus ash, with ISO 2464 covering the calculation. Buyers ask because it tells them what they are paying to remove. A high MONG figure moves a parcel from a refining feed to a biogas or disposal conversation.
What should be on a crude glycerine offer?
Five numbers, and without them it is an enquiry rather than an offer: glycerol content, water, ash, MONG and residual methanol. Add origin, monthly volume and certification status and a buyer can price it on the spot. Typical crude from biodiesel runs 50 to 85 percent glycerol, with the 80 percent plus material moving much more easily than material below that.
Is crude glycerine an Annex IX feedstock?
Yes. Crude glycerine is listed in Annex IX Part A at point (i) of Directive (EU) 2018/2001, which places it in the advanced feedstock category rather than the capped Part B category. Annex IX has been amended since, so confirm the current letter against the consolidated text before contracting.
What is MONG in a glycerine specification?
Matter organic non-glycerol: the organic impurity content beyond glycerol and water. It is the best single indicator of how difficult and expensive the material will be to refine, which is why refiners price against it directly rather than against purity alone.
What purity is crude glycerine?
Typically around 80 % glycerol, though it varies with the plant and the feedstock. Refined and technical grades run 99 % and above. The gap between the two is refining capacity, and access to a refiner is often worth more to a producer than a point of purity.
Why does methanol content matter?
It is residual from transesterification and it is a safety, transport and classification issue as much as a quality one. Buyers and terminals both ask about it early, and a high figure narrows the list of parties who can legally handle the cargo.
Can glycerine go to biogas?
Yes, and it is a well-established outlet. Crude glycerine is a readily digestible, energy-dense co-substrate for anaerobic digestion. Whether it is worth more there than in a refining or chemical outlet depends on purity, salt content, certification and location.
Do you handle refined and pharmaceutical grade?
Yes, though the buyer list narrows sharply as the specification tightens, and USP and pharmaceutical grades carry documentation requirements well beyond a normal certificate of analysis. Tell us the grade and the intended use and we will say plainly whether we are the right broker for it.
Market news
Recent headlines from across the feedstock and renewable fuel sector. Nothing specific to this market has come through the wires lately, so this is the wider view. The links go to the publisher; we do not host or edit their reporting, and a headline here is not our endorsement of it. Scroll for more.
- Kimchi waste could become viable feedstock for bioplastics
- Braskem biobased polymer helps Deterra drug disposal pouch earn packaging awards
- Eni and PETRONAS to explore high-performance bio-gasoline
- Linglong signs $2 billion Egypt investment MoU
- BTMA to represent European national associations at Tyres Europe board meetings
- Osaka Gas claims STS LNG bunkering first in Osaka Bay
- ISWG-GHG 22: Non-profits react
- USTC brings Copenhagen-based offices together in new hub
- ORLEN instigates new Baltic regional energy initiative
- TotalEnergies Lubmarine launches lubricant for 4-stroke medium speed marine engines
- IMO carbon price heads for December showdown
- LyondellBasell: Pyrolysis Reactors Installed for MoReTec Plant in Wesseling
- Sustainable aviation fuel pioneer completes successful trials
- Louis Dreyfus Company to generate biogas from citrus waste
- Nature by Design: A decade of IUCN, Monaco collaboration driving circular solutions for biodiversity
- European Digital Sustainability Skills Conference
- UCL reacts to IMO ISWG-GHG: ‘Steady progress on the Net Zero Framework’ made but ‘high uncertainty’ remains
- ISWG-GHG 22: ‘Genuine willingness’ for further NZF progress, observes Chair
18 headlines, updated automatically. Last refreshed .
Sources and further reading
Primary sources for the rules and figures on this page, so you can check them yourself. Legislation is amended: always read the consolidated text on the date that matters to you.
- Document checklist: exactly which papers a European buyer asks for, per product
- SPECIMEN safety data sheet: Crude glycerine (worked example, all 16 sections)
- Glycerine grade specifications, crude through USP
- Directive (EU) 2018/2001 (RED II), consolidated text on EUR-Lex
- Directive (EU) 2023/2413 (RED III) on EUR-Lex
- ISCC System, the certification scheme itself
Who to ask about Crude & refined glycerine
Just ask. Glycerine to place? Send the purity, the MONG, the ash and the methanol figure and we will tell you which market you are in. You get Bart van den Brug on the other end, same working day, in English or Dutch, and across the team also in French, Portuguese, Polish, Czech and Russian.
On how we work: on the feedstocks and fuels on this site we are a broker. We never take title, we do not trade our own book, and we are paid a commission on business that concludes. Additives are the one exception: those we also buy and sell for our own account, and we say in which capacity we are acting before you commit to anything. Either way you will hear it from us when the answer is no, or when your parcel is not ready for the conversation you want to have. A market read or a second opinion on a specification costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Happy to look at whatever you have, even if it is half an analysis and a question.
+31 6 115 83 448
bart@sustainablecommodities.eu
Sustainable Commodities 3 B.V., Lemmer, the Netherlands
Ask about Crude & refined glycerine
Specification, volume, location and certification are enough to start.
Or e-mail us directly: bart@sustainablecommodities.eu
Last reviewed 08 September 2026. Regulatory references are given for orientation and are not legal advice: verify against the current Official Journal text before contracting.