Kinetic study on catalytic conversion of glycerol to renewable acrolein

Abstract

Biodiesel is a suitable alternative to gasoline and diesel since it emits less carbon emission. There has been a surplus of glycerol in the market due to biodiesel production. Glycerol may be a good source of bio-based feed since it is from a renewable source. The kinetic study of gas-phase glycerol dehydration reaction using a supported γ-Al2O3 nanoparticle based solid heteropoly acid catalyst (SiW20-Al/Zr10) has been investigated. A kinetic model was established, based on the reaction mechanism, taking into account two parallel reactions of glycerol degradation into acrolein or acetol. All the reaction rate constants and activation energies were determined at various reaction temperatures (280 - 340 °C). The first-order kinetic model and the experimental data fitted-well. Results revealed that all the rate constants increased with temperature, and the activation energies of glycerol dehydration to acrolein and acetol were 46.0 and 53.3 kJ/mol. The results from this study are useful for simulation and process modelling of a bio-refinery for sustainable production of biobased chemicals.