Glycerol is vegetable glycerin right?

[conanthewarrior]

Hi people.

My VG finally turned up, but it is a different brand. It is pharmacuetical grade and called 'glycerol', with a warning on incase of inhalation go outside ETC but it is from the same company I get my PG from, and that has the same warning. I guess they are put on all bottles.

I have googled, and it appears glycerol is vegetable glycerin, but I want to make sure 100% as I do not want to accidently inhale something that is not meant for inhaling.

Every source I can find says glycerol is vegetable glycerin, but I want to check here also, just in case.

I am going to make some up now, so if anyone could answer quick that would be great.

Thank you, Conan.

 

[danb]

Yes, glycerol = glycerin. These are both synonymous common names for propane-1,2,3-triol. The "vegetable" just indicates the source.

 

[collateral diarrhea]

VG is basically glycerin that is made strictly from plant oils.
Generic glycerin is normally made from petroleum based stuff.

 

[danb]

Generic glycerin is normally made from petroleum based stuff.

Glycerin is biodiesel byproduct, so I'm pretty sure nobody manufactures it from petrochemicals any more. Increasing biodiesel production led to glycerin overproduction, which has depressed the cost of glycerin such that the the petrochemical feedstocks for synthetic glycerin are now more valuable than glycerin itself - i.e. making glycerin from petrochemicals is like burning banknotes to manufacture ash. I could be wrong of course.

PG is a petrochemical product though.

 

[collateral diarrhea]

Glycerin is biodiesel byproduct, so I'm pretty sure nobody manufactures it from petrochemicals any more. Increasing biodiesel production led to glycerin overproduction, which has depressed the cost of glycerin such that the the petrochemical feedstocks for synthetic glycerin are now more valuable than glycerin itself - i.e. making glycerin from petrochemicals is like burning banknotes to manufacture ash. I could be wrong of course.

PG is a petrochemical product though.

I dunno lol, i'm just repeating what i learned in school

 

[itssme]

And you can run diesel engines on the stuff.

 

[conanthewarrior]

Glycerin is biodiesel byproduct, so I'm pretty sure nobody manufactures it from petrochemicals any more. Increasing biodiesel production led to glycerin overproduction, which has depressed the cost of glycerin such that the the petrochemical feedstocks for synthetic glycerin are now more valuable than glycerin itself - i.e. making glycerin from petrochemicals is like burning banknotes to manufacture ash. I could be wrong of course.

PG is a petrochemical product though.

Hang on, seeing as this is not vegetable glycerin, can I vape it safely? I have been vaping it, and am worried due to the warning on the bottle, even though the propylene glycol has it. It tastes the same as VG, has the same viscousity, and tastes the same when i vape, but this worries me it is not from vegetables and actually comes from the diesel/petrol industry.

I am safe using this to vape arent it? I bought it off ebay, and it did say Ecig base in the title description so guess I am, but I don't want to be the 25 year old bloke who killed himself by using the wrong product.

 

[conanthewarrior]

Seriously, If someone could answer that would be great. It is pharmaceutical grade glycerin, I'm just worried because it is not plant based it is dangerous, and need my mind set at ease pleaseeee?

 

[danb]

I dunno lol, i'm just repeating what i learned in school

Fair enough, the schoolbooks are often a bit behind the times. I heard about this stuff at a conference on carbohydrate feedstocks a few years ago (but I've not really kept up to date with it since then). It's pretty interesting actually, biodiesel production now produces crude glycerin (as waste) faster than it can be refined. There's so much waste glycerin sloshing around that biodiesel producers are trying to come up with new uses for it - even breaking it down into petrochemical-like compounds (essentially trying to do the reverse of traditional petrochemical glycerin synthesis) with the goal of a (more) sustainable source of chemicals traditionally produced from crude oil.

I will shut up now before I bore you all to tears.

 

[danb]

Seriously, If someone could answer that would be great. It is pharmaceutical grade glycerin, I'm just worried because it is not plant based it is dangerous, and need my mind set at ease pleaseeee?

You should be fine, I would vape it if I was in your shoes (provided you are convinced the source is reputable).

It is most likely plant based. Biodiesel is made from plants, glycerin is a waste product from biodiesel production, and this is where the vast majority of glycerin comes from. That's the cheapest way to make it. Synthetic glycerin from petroleum sources is a lot more expensive to produce, so perhaps if your glycerin was surprisingly expensive it might be of petrochemical origin, but I very much doubt it. The supplier should be able to answer this question for you if you want to know.

There is nothing inherently dangerous about petrochemical-derived compounds, and nothing inherently safe about "natural" compounds. This is a myth perpetuated by media and advertising. If it's high purity glycerin, whether it is synthetic or not doesn't matter. The name "vegetable glycerin" is probably only used because "vegetable" has positive connotations in the public eye - it's an advertising bonus, nothing more. There's a reason they don't label it as literally what it is, "Glycerin refined from biodiesel waste" - it would scare people.