Crude glycerin from biodiesel supply chain can replace synthetic glycerol or other chemicals in industrialapplications. To improve sustainability according to the biorefinery perspective, a purification phase willbe carried out only if it is really necessary to reach standards for industrial processes or final products. Inmetal working, the use of crude glycerin-based hydraulic fluids, replacing mineral oil-based and glycol-based ones, has fulfilled industrial requirements and made it possible to increase (i) worker safety becauseof its non-flammability; (ii) biodegradability and (iii) time-life of the product due to anti-wear proper-ties; in addition, post-use waste management will be simplified, due to the possibility to declassify fluidsas special waste. In biodegradable mulching films, the replacement of synthetic glycerol was successfulbecause it made it possible both to maintain the same compounding conditions and to obtain the sameyields and film biodegradation in an agronomic trial on muskmelon. The benefits compared with conven-tional polyethylene films are the same as conventional readily biodegradable films. The key parametersin the analytical composition of glycerin concerning specific industrial applications are discussed; theenvironmental benefits in metal working fluid formulation and in mulching film compounding are thenassessed.