Glycerine: Overview
The quiet moisturiser in toothpaste, creams and cough syrup
What this tab covers What the chemical is, how big its market is, what it is used for (with shares, volumes, why it wins and what could replace it), and its chain from raw material to end user. Ends with three things to remember.Glycerine (glycerol) is the three-carbon backbone of every fat and oil. It is released when oils are turned into biodiesel or split into fatty acids, at about 0.1 t per t, so supply follows biofuel mandates, not glycerine demand. World output is roughly 5-6 Mt a year (indicative), about three-quarters from biodiesel. Crude 80% glycerine sells for $400-850/t and refined 99.7% for about $1,100-1,500/t (Argus, Mar 2026). Refined grades go into toothpaste, cosmetics, drugs and food; crude into epichlorohydrin, feed and energy. The shift from biodiesel to HVO, which makes no glycerine, slows supply growth.
Volume about 5-6 Mt a year of pure glycerol equivalent (indicative, basis: about 0.1 t per t of 45-50 Mt FAME plus about 1 Mt from fat splitting and fatty alcohols) Market value about $4-6 billion a year (indicative, basis: about 5.5 Mt x $700-1,100/t blended crude and refined) Growth supply growth now set by Brazil's blend increases and, if it goes ahead, Indonesia's B50 (postponed in Jan 2026); US and EU growth goes to HVO, which yields no glycerine (indicative) derived from biodiesel and fatty_acids tiles (indicative); Argus Glycerine, issue 26-9, 5 Mar 2026 (sample) (prices)Key uses
| Use | Share | Annual volume | Why this commodity | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal care and oral care | 28% | about 1.5 Mtbasis | Glycerine is a cheap, safe humectant: it keeps toothpaste, creams and soaps moist and smooth. indicative | Sorbitol Propylene glycol |
| Pharmaceuticals | 10% | about 0.55 Mtbasis | USP/EP glycerine is a solvent, sweetener and excipient in syrups, capsules and topical drugs; purity rules on diethylene glycol are strict. indicative | Sorbitol Propylene glycol |
| Food and beverages | 12% | about 0.65 Mtbasis | E422 humectant and sweetener in baked goods, confectionery and drinks. indicative | Sorbitol Sugar syrups |
| Polyether polyols and alkyd resins | 12% | about 0.65 Mtbasis | The three hydroxyl groups make glycerine a starter for flexible polyurethane foam polyols and a backbone in alkyd paints. indicative | Trimethylolpropane Pentaerythritol Sorbitol |
| Epichlorohydrin and other chemicals (propylene glycol, acrolein) | 18% | about 1.0 Mtbasis | Cheap crude glycerine replaced propylene in some epichlorohydrin plants (glycerine-to-ECH), especially in China, which takes 56% of world crude glycerine import value. UN Comtrade 2024; share indicative | Propylene-based ECH and propylene glycol |
| Animal feed, tobacco, energy and technical uses | 20% | about 1.1 Mtbasis | Crude glycerine is fed to cattle and pigs as energy, burned for heat, co-digested in biogas plants or used in antifreeze and tobacco. indicative | Maize and molasses (feed) Fuel oil |
From raw material to user
- Oils and fats Palm, soybean and rapeseed oil, tallow and used cooking oil.
- Biodiesel or fat splitting About 0.1 t of glycerol is released per t of FAME or per t of oil split (stoichiometric, indicative).
- Crude glycerine Biodiesel glycerine is about 80% glycerol with salts, methanol and soaps; Brazil crude 80% sold at $740-760/t FOB Santos in Mar 2026 (Argus).
- Refining Neutralisation, vacuum distillation and bleaching give 99.5-99.7% technical or USP grades; Europe kosher refined €1,080-1,100/t (Argus, Mar 2026).
- Users Consumer goods, pharma and food buyers, polyol and ECH makers, feed mills.
Made from (commodity table)
PO Palm oilSoy SoybeansThree things to know
- About 0.1 t of glycerine comes with every t of biodiesel, so biodiesel supplies about three-quarters of world glycerine (indicative, stoichiometric).
- In March 2026 US vegetable refined glycerine sold for $1,279-1,477/t against $419-551/t for crude 80%, a refining spread of about $800-950/t (Argus).
- China took 56% of world crude glycerine imports by value in 2024, $0.48 billion for 1.58 Mt (UN Comtrade HS 152000).