Synthesis of glycerol carbonate from glycerol and dimethyl carbonate catalyzed by NaOH/γ-Al₂O

The NaOH/γ-Al₂O₃ as catalyst for the synthesis of glycerol carbonate via transesterification of glycerol with dimethyl carbonate (DMC) has been developed in this work. It was found that NaOH/γ-Al₂O₃ was a highly efficient heterogeneous catalyst for the synthesis of glycerol carbonate and the catalys...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Fuel processing technology 2013, Vol.106, p.209-214
Main Authors: Bai, Rongxian, Wang, Yi, Wang, Shu, Mei, Fuming, Li, Tao, Li, Guangxing
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
catalysts
catalytic activity
glycerol
potassium carbonate
recycling
temperature
transesterification
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The NaOH/γ-Al₂O₃ as catalyst for the synthesis of glycerol carbonate via transesterification of glycerol with dimethyl carbonate (DMC) has been developed in this work. It was found that NaOH/γ-Al₂O₃ was a highly efficient heterogeneous catalyst for the synthesis of glycerol carbonate and the catalyst can be easily recovered and recycled. Under the conditions of DMC/glycerol molar ratio of 2, catalyst/glycerol weight ratio of 3%, reaction time of 1h, and reaction temperature of 78°C, the conversion of glycerol and the selectivity to glycerol carbonate reached 97.9% and 99.0%, respectively. The catalytic performance of 80wt.% NaOH/γ-Al₂O₃ is much better than that of K₂CO₃. A plausible reaction mechanism about this catalytic reaction was also proposed.
ISSN:0378-3820
1873-7188