Study of hydrotalcite-supported transition metals as catalysts for crude glycerol hydrogenolysis

Abstract

Hydrotalcites containing Fe, Ni-, Zn- and Cu were synthesized by the coprecipitation method. These catalysts were characterized and employed for the hydrogenolysis of pure glycerol. The catalyst with the best performance (HDT-Cu) was used to carry out the hydrogenolysis of crude glycerol. The best yield (74.1%) for the real, low purity (62%) glycerol was obtained at 3.4 MPa of H2 and 200 °C for 24 h of reaction. The regeneration capacity of the catalysts was also studied in order to develop an economically feasible process for industrial application.