Abstract
The crude glycerol is produced during the transesterification of animal fats and vegetable oils, but it is a by-product of this process. Currently, its elimination is a problem in the chemical industry. The main goal of this work was the preparation, characterization and application of mesoporous cerium-zirconium oxide as supports for copper and gold species and the comparison of selected factors on the properties of catalysts in glycerol oxidation in the liquid phase. The samples were characterized using adsorption and desorption of nitrogen, XRD, UV-vis, XPS, TEM, SEM, and STEM-EDXS. The obtained results of glycerol oxidation show that the bimetallic copper-gold catalysts are more active and selective to glyceric acid in this reaction than analogous monometallic gold catalysts. Additionally, bimetallic catalysts are also characterized by the catalytic stability, and their application leads to the increase of selectivity to glyceric acid during their reusing in glycerol oxidation in alkali media. In this work, the influence of selected factors, e.g., oxygen source and its pressure, solution pH, and base content on the catalytic activity of bimetallic catalysts is discussed.
Highlights
Glycerol is a chemical compound obtained during the transesterification of oils and fats [1,2]
The main aim of this study is to show that mesoporous cerium-zirconium oxides, and their modification with copper species, can lead to obtaining the active catalysts in selective glycerol oxidation to fine chemicals
The comparison of catalysts is described in the paragraph titled “the changes in materials after reaction”, but the general information about the properties of calcined materials before their application in the catalytic tests are described in this paragraph
Summary
Glycerol is a chemical compound obtained during the transesterification of oils and fats [1,2]. Various catalytic processes can be used to obtain the valuable chemicals: oxidation, hydrogenolysis, dehydration, etherification, transesterification, etc. The studies of the catalytic selective oxidation of glycerol over supported Au containing catalysts started in the 1990s [7]. The catalytic oxidation of glycerol is a reaction that can run through multiple pathways and gives various valuable chemicals [8]. The products of glycerol oxidation are, e.g., glyceric acid, tartronic acid, 1,3-dihydroxyacetone and glyceraldehyde [9,10,11,12]. The challenge of the petrochemical industry is the development of catalysts for glycerol oxidation, which will be characterized by high activity, selectivity to selected products and catalytic stability
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