Hydrogenolysis of glycerol to alcohols catalyzed by transition metals supported on pillared clay

Abstract

The present work evaluated the effect of Pt, Pd and Ru catalysts supported on pillared clay (Al-Pilc) on the selectivity and products yielded in the hydrogenolysis of glycerol. The catalyst was prepared by aqueous suspension impregnation, with precursors Pt(NH3)4Cl2·0.68H2O, PdCl2 and RuCl3·1.37H2O, to obtain a nominal content catalyst of 2 wt%. They were characterized by specific surface area, temperature programmed reduction, X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy of adsorbed pyridine, and pyridine temperature programmed desorption. As co-catalyst, the solid studied was Amberlyst 15. The hydrogenolysis of glycerol was performed in the liquid phase, typically at 393 K and 50 bar. The results indicate that the use of bifunctional metal–acid catalysts is a way to make the hydrogenolysis more effective because it favors the dehydration and hydrogenation reactions to produce 1,2-propanediol (1,2PD) and 1-propanol (1PO). Higher yield and a suitable selectivity to 1,2-propanediol were obtained for Ru/Al-Pilc.