Turning waste into green gold: new biodiesel recycling breakthrough @lborouniversity
Turning waste into green gold: new biodiesel recycling breakthrough  @lborouniversity
Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
A groundbreaking electrochemical process developed by R3V Tech, a Loughborough University spin-out, is helping biodiesel producers turn waste into profit while slashing emissions and energy use.

Led by Dr. Adriano Randi (CEO) and Professor Benjamin Buckley (CSO), the team has created a system that converts crude glycerol – a low-value by-product of biodiesel – into solketal, a high-value bio-derived solvent used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, industry, and as a fuel additive.

Currently scaling from lab experiments to pilot-scale production, R3V Tech has secured an Innovate UK grant to trial the system at a biodiesel plant within months. Their long-term vision: a plug-and-play modular unit that enables biodiesel producers everywhere to refine waste on site, boosting sustainability and profitability.

πŸ”¬ How it works: Crude glycerol is filtered, mixed, and saturated with COβ‚‚ before passing through an electrochemical reactor. Powered by electricity, the reaction transforms waste into valuable solketal β€” a process that is clean, efficient, and scalable.

πŸš€ Selected for the Shell Start-Up Engine and the Royal Society of Chemistry Change Makers programme, R3V Tech is on a mission to create a greener, circular biofuel industry.

🌱 R3V Tech Motto: Reduce. Reuse. Revalue.

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Turning waste into green gold: new biodiesel recycling breakthrough

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