Glycerol and derived solvents: new sustainable reaction media for organic synthesis.

The rapid growth of the biodiesel industry has led to a large surplus of its major byproduct, i.e. glycerol, for which new applications need to be found. Research efforts in this area have focused mainly on the development of processes for converting glycerol into value-added chemicals and its reforming for hydrogen production, but recently, in line with the increasing interest in the use of alternative greener solvents, an innovative way to revalorize glycerol and some of its derivatives has seen the light, i.e. their use as environmentally friendly reaction media for synthetic organic chemistry. The aim of the present Feature Article is to provide a comprehensive overview on the developments reached in this field. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2011