European crude glycerine is bought by glycerine refiners and oleochemical plants, biogas operators -- especially in Belgium and the Netherlands -- and animal feed compounders, with biodiesel producers who refine in-house (such as Argent Energy with its technical-grade refinery) increasingly on both sides of the trade. What decides which door is open is not the word "glycerine" but three numbers: glycerol content, methanol, and ash / MONG. Refiners generally want 80%+ glycerol with low methanol and salt; biogas plants tolerate a rougher crude but price it as a substrate; feed has its own purity rules. Europe takes roughly a third of world glycerine output, and after the price cycle of recent years buyers are selective: a well-specified crude sells, a vague one does not.
- 1Transesterification of fats and oils
- 2Crude glycerine drawn off (80%-typical glycerol)
- 3Assayed on glycerol, methanol, ash and MONG
- 4Sold to a refiner, a digester or a feed compounder
- 5Or refined in-house at serious scale
Glycerine supply follows biodiesel runs, not glycerine demand. The three numbers -- glycerol, methanol, ash -- decide which of the three buyer lists a cargo can even enter.
The buyers, by type
Glycerine comes onto the market as a by-product: every tonne of biodiesel or HVO made from fats and oils brings glycerine with it. The buying side is therefore a disposal-and-upgrading market, and the buyers sort cleanly by specification.
| Glycerine refiners and oleochemicals | Players such as Emery Oleochemicals and the wider oleochemical base upgrade 80%+ crude into refined grades for pharma, personal care and chemistry. Low methanol and low ash protect their equipment; that is what the premium pays for. |
|---|---|
| Biodiesel producers with own refining | Argent Energy built Europe's largest technical-grade bio-based glycerine refinery on its own waste-based crude. Integrated players are both sellers of crude and buyers of it, depending on the plant. |
| Biogas operators | Strong demand in Belgium and the Netherlands, where waste-based glycerine is a valued digester substrate. The roughest crudes still sell here, priced as energy. |
| Animal feed compounders | Glycerine as an energy ingredient, subject to feed purity rules. Volume buyer of suitable crude, but documentation has to be right. |
| Traders and brokers | The crude market moves largely through specialists who match producer specs to refiner slots; small producers rarely ship direct. |
The three numbers that decide your buyer
Glycerol content is the headline: 80% crude is the refiner threshold, and below it the cargo drifts to biogas pricing. The gap between 75% and 82% material is real money per tonne.
Methanol is carried over from biodiesel production and is the impurity refiners fear most for their columns; feed and biogas have their own limits. A crude with high methanol sells itself out of the best doors.
Ash, salt and MONG (matter organic non-glycerol) decide how much of your tonnage is actually product. Soaps and catalyst residues from transesterification end up here; a washing step upstream moves the cargo a grade.
Bring those three numbers and a buyer list becomes short and specific. Bring only 'I have glycerine' and the answers you get will be discounts.
What the market looks like from the producing side
Because glycerine is a by-product, its supply moves with biodiesel and HVO runs, not with glycerine demand -- and renewable diesel growth has added volume. Prices cycled down hard from their 2022 peak, and the market is selective: well-specified, consistent crude finds slots; inconsistent material hunts for a home.
For a producer, the working answer is continuity. A steady monthly volume with a stable analysis goes to a refiner on terms; one-off tanks go to whoever has a hole in their schedule. That difference, repeated every month, is most of the value a broker adds on this molecule.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sell glycerine below 80% glycerol?
Yes, but into a different list. Sub-80% crude realistically sells to biogas and some feed outlets at substrate pricing, not to refiners. If the volume justifies it, upstream changes in the transesterification and washing step can move the crude a grade -- worth knowing before you sell, not after.
Does waste-based glycerine earn a premium?
Not automatically as a certificate the way a PoS-bearing feedstock does; glycerine itself is not the compliance product. But its origin matters to buyers: biogas operators in Belgium and the Netherlands specifically value waste-based glycerine, and that is where origin shows up in the price.
Why do refiners reject high-methanol crude?
Methanol is volatile, flammable and poisons the refining step; it also has to be stripped and handled as emissions. A crude with high methanol is a handling problem before it is a product, so refiners screen it first and price it last.
Is refined glycerine worth producing myself?
Only above serious volumes and with a stable crude: refining is capital and quality-systems heavy, and the integrated players have scale. Most producers we work with sell crude well and leave the refining margin to those built 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.
- Singapore, Brazil move to build green fuel shipping corridor
- Auramarine builds business on marine fuel flexibility
- Stargate Hydrogen Strengthens Nordic Expansion with Petri Sarnes, Former Siemens Power Sector Director of FinBaltic region
- Econetix Adds New Biochar And Bamboo Project To Its Portfolio
- Open call for the second Circular Economy Awards for the Western Balkan region
- TFG Marine installs ISO-certified mass flow meters on two US Gulf bunker barges
- DNV flags ‘strong summer’ for alternative-fuelled vessel orders
- Everllence launches engine-supported air lubrication tech
- Continental Develops Tyre with More Than 40% Recycled Materials for EU Project
- Evaluating the Health Impact Assessment on the UK’s Tyre Recycling Sector
- Oiltraining’s Visser joins IBIA as new Training & Technical Advisor
- Global hydrogen fuel cell market to reach $13.1 billion by 2031, research finds
- OMV Petrom expands Its green hydrogen production capacity at the Petrobrazi refinery to 55 MW
- Innovation funding awarded for next phase of Northern Gas Networks hydrogen storage project
- Haffner targets deal for 12 biomass-to-hydrogen units in western US
- Alfa Laval selected as technology provider for electrolyzer cooling in one of Europe’s largest renewable hydrogen projects
- ABO Energy and the City of Oulu sign agreement to advance hydrogen plant zoning
- SK Innovation E&S and Deokyang Energen to build five combined hydrogen refueling stations in South Korea
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.
Who to ask about Who buys glycerine
Just ask. Producing crude glycerine and looking at a buyer list? Send the glycerol percentage, methanol and ash and we will tell you where it sells. 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
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Last reviewed 03 September 2026. Regulatory references are given for orientation and are not legal advice: verify against the current Official Journal text before contracting.