Abstract
The present work deals with the novel use of heterogeneous catalysts for the preparation of solketal from bio-glycidol. Sustainable feedstocks and mild reaction conditions are considered to enhance the greenness of the proposed process. Nafion NR50 promotes the quantitative and selective acetalization of glycidol with acetone. DFT calculations demonstrate that the favored mechanism consists in the nucleophilic attack of acetone to glycidol concerted with the ring opening assisted by the acidic groups on the catalyst and in the following closure of the five member ring of the solketal.
Highlights
Nowadays with the depletion of fossil fuels many efforts are devoted to the development of new green routes to convert renewables into biofuels [1,2]
We report for the first time the selective preparation of solketal through glycidol ketalization with acetone in the presence of acid heterogeneous catalysts with the aim to increase the sustainability of this process
The preparation of solketal starting from glycidol permits us to separate the desired product at the end of the process using a rotary evaporator under reduced pressure thanks to the highly different boiling points of solketal (188 ◦ C) and acetone (56 ◦ C)
Summary
Nowadays with the depletion of fossil fuels many efforts are devoted to the development of new green routes to convert renewables into biofuels [1,2]. The conversion of glycerol, mainly obtained as by product during biodiesel production, into value-added products is extremely important [4]. To this extent, several strategies have been investigated to convert glycerol into propanediols, dihydroxyacetone, allyl alcohol, polyglycerols, glycerol ethers, glycerol esters, etc. Solketal can be directly used to reduce biodiesel viscosity and to satisfy the established values for flash point and oxidation stability [12]
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