Selective Hydrogenolysis of Glycerol to 1,2-Propanediol over Highly Active and Stable Cu/MgO Catalyst in the Vapor Phase

Abstract

Highly active, selective, and stable Cu/MgO catalyst was developed for hydrogenolysis of glycerol to 1,2-propanediol (1,2-PDO) in vapor phase. The effect of metal loading, temperature, pressure and weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) on glycerol conversion and 1,2-PDO yield was investigated in a down flow fixed bed tubular reactor. Catalytic results demonstrated that Cu/MgO catalyst promoted the selective hydrogenolysis of C–O bond and limited the cleavage of C–C bond which significantly reduced the selectivity of undesirable products. Very high yield (95.5%) of 1,2-PDO was obtained with 100% conversion of glycerol over 10 wt % Cu/MgO catalyst at very low WHSV of 1.2 h–1, 220 °C, and 0.75 MPa pressure. The superior performance of 10 wt % Cu/MgO catalyst was attributed to the presence of bifunctional acidic-basic sites, small particle size, and synergetic interaction between copper nanoparticles and MgO support. Time-on-stream study and the characterization results of fresh and used catalyst confirmed the ...