Abstract
Catalytic dehydration of biomass-derived methyl lactate to produce acrylic acid and its esters promises a renewable route to produce a major commodity chemical. Alkali metal cation exchanged zeolites are capable of catalyzing this reaction; however, selectivity control toward the dehydration pathway remains a challenge. Through combined kinetic and transmission spectroscopic investigations, we demonstrate that introducing pyridine, a base, to the reaction feed increases selectivity to acrylates while inhibiting the formation of side products (i.e., acetaldehyde and coking). The ratio of the turnover frequencies for the desired dehydration and undesired decarbonylation pathways (TOFDH/TOFAD) increases by a factor of ∼20 when pyridine is included in the feed (pyridine/methyl lactate 1/10), in comparison to the case where pyridine is absent. Transmission FTIR investigations show that the reduced decarbonylation activity can be directly related to pyridine quenching Bronsted acid sites generated during the re...
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
