What is glycerin, and is it 'green?'?

Question

What is glycerin, and is it 'green?'?

Answer 1

It's an alcohol that is used in lots of foods drugs and for various industrial applications.  

It is extracted from fats.  Most people would consider it green because it is a by-product of making soap or bio-diesel.

Answer 2

Glycerin is something you can use to keep the dust down on dirt roads, it actually absorbs moisture from the air and holds it, keeping dust under control during those really hot months.

Answer 3

its a hydrocarbon that will eventually break down to water and CO2.  You decide now are water and CO2 bad?

Answer 4

All oil is environmentally green as the plants produced them...

Answer 5

glycerin is a byproduct of rendering fats: it  is used in other products often for MAKING soap NOT from soap -tho it can be rendered OUT of soap with much difficulty why would you want to?

"Biodiesel is an alternative fuel that is relatively safe and easy to process when conscientiously approached.  Made from vegetable oil (or animal fat) that can be used in any diesel engine without any modifications. Boasting an overall 90% reduction in toxic emissions.....

The only BY-PRODUCT  OF this form of BIODIESEL IS GLYCERIN, which can be easily used to make soap or other products."

its a very natural product so yes it would definitely be considered green

other interesting info:

Glycerin, also well known as glycerine and glycerol, and less commonly as 1,2,3-propanetriol, 1,2,3-trihydroxypropane, glyceritol, and glycyl alcohol is a colorless, odorless, hygroscopic, and sweet-tasting viscous liquid. Glycerin is a sugar alcohol and has three hydrophilic alcoholic hydroxyl groups (-OH) that are responsible for its solubility in water. Glycerin is prochiral.

Glycerin IS USED in glycerin soap, in cosmetics and creams, in foods, in chemistry, and in glycerin Fog machine mist. Glycerin is produced from dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) by the enzyme glycerol three-phosphate dehydrogenase (Gpd p) in the mitochondrion of the eukaryotic cell during glycolysis"



"....When asked why their soap is better than store-bought, they say (among other things), "Because of the natural glycerin. Glycerin is a humectant, meaning it attracts moisture to your skin

Glycerin is a neutral, sweet-tasting, colorless, thick liquid which freezes to a gummy paste and which has a high boiling point. Glycerin can be dissolved into water or alcohol, but not oils. On the other hand, many things will dissolve into glycerin easier than they do into water or alcohol. So it is a good solvent.

Glycerin is also highly "hygroscopic" which means that it absorbs water from the air. Example: if you left a bottle of pure glycerin exposed to air in your kitchen, it would take moisture from the air and eventually, it would become 80 per glycerin and 20 percent water.

Because of this hygroscopic quality, pure, 100 percent glycerin placed on the tongue may raise a blister, since it is dehydrating. Diluted with water, however, it will soften your skin. (Note: While people say this softening is the result of the glycerin attracting moisture to your skin, there is heated debate as to whether or not the glycerin has some other properties all its own which are helpful to the skin. Summed up, the current thinking is "We know glycerin softens the skin. Some people think its because it attracts moisture, but there could be other reasons.")"

Answer 6

It is a form or alcohol that comes from sugar

.

It is used in the pills that the doctor gives us

.

Answer 7

Glycerin is a byproduct of either vegetable compounds or oil manufacturing. It is very natural, and has many uses. I use it to make laundry detergent as it dissolves easily in water and leaves my clothes very clean and smelling good. There are many uses for it around the home. I use the vegetable derivative as I am trying to reduce my petroleum consumption where I am able. Homemade soap works just as well as branded soaps and uses no petroleum, leaving ones clothes and laundry clean, soft, absorbent and chemical free.

It can also be used in home made beauty products, as an additive to certain recipes, or as a solvent.  

Answer 8

It is a liquid byproduct from soap making and the bio-diesel making process. It can be used to make liquid soap, personal lubricants, and lotions. Glycerin also has industrial and pharmaceutical uses. It is biodegradable and edible.