Glycerol-1,2-carbonate is formally the cyclic ester of carbonic acid with glycerol and has aroused great interest as a possible product from the "waste materials" carbon dioxide CO2 and glycerol (especially from biodiesel production) with a wide range of applications. The currently unsatisfactory yields and complex process conditions in direct synthesis stand in the way of a further spread of glycerol carbonate as a solvent and molecular building block from renewable raw materials. Manufacture A large number of synthetic routes have been described for the production of glycerol-1,2-carbonate, many of which do not meet the criteria for modern chemical processes in terms of economy, environmental compatibility and safety. Non-glycerol-based syntheses, especially if they are based on expensive precursors such as glycidol or 3-chloro-1,2-propanediol or epichlorohydrin and expensive catalysts make no contribution to the economic solution of the huge glycerol oversupply (estimate for 2024: approx. 6.3 million tons global production volume). Of the indirect glycerol-based syntheses, in which the cyclic carbonic acid ester glycerol carbonate is produced by inserting a carbonyl group, reactions with particularly inexpensive urea and with dialkyl carbonates such as dimethyl carbonate DMC and ethylene carbonate have been particularly studied. The transesterification produces methanol or, in the case of urea, ammonia as a by-product, which can be easily removed from the reaction and have little disruption to the work-up. Recently, a glycerol carbonate synthesis with urea under microwave irradiation with anhydrous zinc sulfate as a heterogeneous catalyst was described. Under optimized conditions (150 °C, 100 min reaction time), glycerol carbonate could be obtained in 93.7% yield. Most frequently, transesterifications of dialkyl carbonates, predominantly of dimethyl carbonate, with acidic and especially basic catalysts under homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis have been investigated. Practically quantitative yields of glycerol 1,2-carbonate are sometimes achieved in this way. In homogeneous catalysis, however, it is often difficult to separate mixtures, while the solid bases used in heterogeneous catalysis are often quickly exhausted and only costly, e.g. B. by calcination at temperatures of 300 °C, are recyclable. In addition, with high DMC excesses and long reaction times, by-products such as the so-called diglyceryl tricarbonate (A) and glycerol dicarbonate (B) are formed as a result of the reaction of DMC with the free hydroxyl group of the glycerol carbonate. The enzymatically catalyzed conversion of glycerol with DMC in polar solvents has also been described. Recently, continuous processes have also been published. Quite high space-time yields could be achieved