Biofuel Additives: Thermodynamic Studies of Glycerol Ethers

Abstract

Glycerol offers vast potential for the design of new “green” solvents and molecular building blocks from naturally derived resources. Etherification of glycerol at one or more of the three alcohols yields large decreases in viscosity and makes the resulting products attractive “green” solvent candidates. Our prior works have demonstrated efficient synthesis of 1,3-diether-2-alcohol, 1,3-diether-2-ketone, and 1,2,3-triether compounds with glycerol skeletons with a variety of functional groups in both symmetric and asymmetric patterns. As the potential applications for these compounds become more widely explored, there is a need to understand their properties so that they may be properly evaluated for use in existing and new process technologies. In this work, the thermodynamic properties of four glycerol ethers with systematically varied functional groups are measured and evaluated. Data reported will not only help supplement the library of glycerol derivative properties, but also provide guidance for the development of novel biofuel additives.