Abstract
Aqueous glycerol solutions of up to 50 wt% were reacted over magnesium oxide catalysts at temperatures greater than 300 °C, the reactivity of which was compared to catalyst-free reactions.
Highlights
Acetaldehyde, ethylene glycol, acetic and propionic acids, and 1,2-propanediol are present in the recovered reaction mixture (Table S2a†)
We have attempted to fully analyse the effluent stream by different analytical techniques in order to close the mass balance of a typical reaction
The reduction of hydroxyacetone concentration is accompanied by an increase in the concentration of undesirable aldehydes
Summary
The growing concerns regarding the contribution of CO2 emissions to climate change and global warming have encouraged researchers to invest in the discovery of green and sustainable routes for the production of liquid fuels.[1,2] The contribution of ‘renewable’ liquid fuels to final energy demand in the transport sector during 2015 comprised ethanol at 1.6% and biodiesel at 0.8%, with all other liquid biofuels contributing 0.4%.3 Biodiesel is manufactured via the transesterification of natural triglyceride oils with methanol, giving approximately 90 wt% yield of fatty acid methyl esters (biodiesel) and a 10 wt% crude glycerol by-product.[4,5] Future growth in renewable fuel production based on virgin oils, such as palm, soy or rapeseed, is challenged by concerns over sustainability, actual carbon footprint, competition for land, andThe valorisation of glycerol to value-added chemicals is not a novel concept. The growing concerns regarding the contribution of CO2 emissions to climate change and global warming have encouraged researchers to invest in the discovery of green and sustainable routes for the production of liquid fuels.[1,2] The contribution of ‘renewable’ liquid fuels to final energy demand in the transport sector during 2015 comprised ethanol at 1.6% and biodiesel at 0.8%, with all other liquid biofuels contributing 0.4%.3. Biodiesel is manufactured via the transesterification of natural triglyceride oils with methanol, giving approximately 90 wt% yield of fatty acid methyl esters (biodiesel) and a 10 wt% crude glycerol by-product.[4,5] Future growth in renewable fuel production based on virgin oils, such as palm, soy or rapeseed, is challenged by concerns over sustainability, actual carbon footprint, competition for land, and. Numerous reviews have been published highlighting the diverse range of compounds into which glycerol can be upgraded.[8,9,10] Such processes include the selective oxidation and reduction of glycerol,[11,12,13] esterification,[14,15] etherification,[16,17] cyclisation,[18] dehydration,[19,20,21,22] and reforming.[23,24] These remain interesting options where scale
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