Glycerol from biodiesel is a potential raw material for synthesis of several products with high added value. The world demand and the market value of these products are important information for defining the best investment for the implantation of a biorefinery. The information is available on websites of social associations, production companies and market consulting companies and can be mined, free of charge. The International Trade Center (ITC), with information on world trade and websites linked to the foreign trade agencies of every country, such as Comex Stat, in Brazil, are relevant search sources. In this context, this work presents procedures and search techniques for prospecting such information. Such a procedure is illustrated through a case study for which a search of market parameters for glycerol and its derivatives was carried out for use in the process design and economic evaluation of an industrial plant. It was found that crude glycerol had a market price close to US$ 170/ton, in 2019. Among its derivatives, acrylic acid, acrylonitrile and 1,3-propanediol have great potential for the development of new processes, within the scope of a biorefinery. Industrially, acrylic acid (US$ 1100/ton) and acrylonitrile (US$ 1500/ton) are produced from propene (US$ 880/ ton) and 1,3-propanediol (US $ 2000/ton) comes from glucose (US$ 460/t) or ethylene oxide (US$ 1200/t), which encourages the development of new sustainable processes.

This study evaluates the incorporation of lanthanum into zeolites Y, Beta, and ZSM‐5 to promote the desulfurization of a gasoline stream directly in the riser of a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) process. The catalysts were prepared using wet impregnation and characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD) (crystallinity and phase integrity), XRF (La content and Si/Al ratio), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) of ² ⁹Si and ² ⁷Al, N ₂ adsorption, high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), temperature‐programmed desorption of ammonia (TPD‐NH ₃ ), Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and pyridine chemisorbed FTIR (FTIR‐Py). Catalytic tests were conducted in a tubular reactor, using a mixture of cyclohexane and thiophene (20000 ppm) at 773 K and 1.3 atm. Catalytic activity was assessed in a fixed‐bed reactor using a cyclohexane/thiophene feed, and product selectivities were quantified by gas chromatography with flame ionization and sulfur chemiluminescence detectors. The addition of lanthanum altered the acidity of the catalysts, reducing the total density of acid sites while increasing the strength of Lewis acid sites. The protonated zeolites, particularly HY, facilitated sulfur removal, achieving a 91% selectivity for H ₂ S through secondary hydrogen transfer reactions. In contrast, the lanthanum‐modified zeolites enhanced thiophene alkylation and condensation reactions, as evidenced by the selectivity observed in La/BEA and La/ZSM‐5, which reached 15%. The results indicated that incorporating lanthanum changes the desulfurization profile, making the catalysts more selective for forming higher molecular weight sulfur compounds, thereby shifting the products toward the FCC diesel range. The modulation of acidity and structural accessibility of the zeolites proves crucial in converting sulfur compounds into H ₂ S or heavy sulfur compounds in the FCC riser, leading to a reduction in the sulfur content of the gasoline fraction, which is economically advantageous.