SELECTIVE HYDROGENOLYSIS OF GLYCEROL TO PROPYLENE GLYCOL IN A CONTINUOUS FLOW TRICKLE BED REACTOR USING COPPER CHROMITE AND Cu/Al2O3 CATALYSTS

Bibliographic Details
Title: SELECTIVE HYDROGENOLYSIS OF GLYCEROL TO PROPYLENE GLYCOL IN A CONTINUOUS FLOW TRICKLE BED REACTOR USING COPPER CHROMITE AND Cu/Al2O3 CATALYSTS
Authors: Sepúlveda, Jorge, Manuale, Debora, Santiago, Lucia, Carrara, Nicolás, Torres, Gerardo, Vera, Carlos, Goncalves, Maraisa, Carvalho, Wagner, Mandelli, Dalmo
Source: Química Nova. May 2017 40(4)
Publisher Information: Sociedade Brasileira de Química, 2017.
Publication Year: 2017
Subject Terms: hydrogenolysis, copper chromite, glycerol conversion
More Details: The glycerol hydrogenolysis reaction was performed in a continuous flow trickle bed reactor using a water glycerol feed and both copper chromite and Cu/Al2O3 catalysts. The commercial copper chromite had a higher activity than the laboratory prepared Cu/Al2O3 and was used for most of the tests. Propylene glycol was the main product with both catalysts, acetol being the main by-product. It was found that temperature is the main variable influencing the conversion of glycerol. When the state of the glycerol-water reactant mixture was completely liquid, at temperatures lower than 190 ºC, conversion was low and deactivation was observed. At reaction temperatures of 210-230 ºC the conversion of glycerol was complete and the selectivity to propylene glycol was stable at about 60-80% all throughout the reaction time span of 10 h, regardless of the hydrogen pressure level (1 to 20 atm). These optimal values could not be improved significantly by using other different reaction conditions or increasing the catalyst acidity. At higher temperatures (245-250 ºC) the conversion was also 100%. Under reaction conditions at which copper chromite suffered deactivation, light by-products and surface deposits were formed. The deposits could be completely burned at 250 ºC and the catalyst activity fully recovered.
Document Type: article
File Description: text/html
Language: English
ISSN: 0100-4042
DOI: 10.21577/0100-4042.20170018
Access URL: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-40422017000400371
Rights: info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Accession Number: edssci.S0100.40422017000400371
Database: SciELO
More Details
ISSN:01004042
DOI:10.21577/0100-4042.20170018
Published in:Química Nova
Language:English