Microwave-Assisted Glycerol Etherification Over Sulfonic Acid Catalysts

Glycerol is the main by-product of biodiesel production. For this reason, its valorization into value-added products, by using green procedures, represents an important goal. Different sulfonic acid silica- or titania-based catalysts were prepared, characterized and tested in the glycerol etherifica...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Materials 2020-03, Vol.13 (7), p.1584
Main Authors: Aguado-Deblas, Laura, Estevez, Rafael, Russo, Marco, La Parola, Valeria, Bautista, Felipa M, Testa, Maria Luisa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Additives
Amorphous materials
Aqueous solutions
Biodiesel fuels
Catalysts
Ethanol
Glycerol
Microwaves
Photoelectrons
Silicon dioxide
Spectrum analysis
Sulfonic acid
Thermogravimetric analysis
Vegetable oils
X ray fluorescence analysis
X ray photoelectron spectroscopy
Zeolites
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Summary:Glycerol is the main by-product of biodiesel production. For this reason, its valorization into value-added products, by using green procedures, represents an important goal. Different sulfonic acid silica- or titania-based catalysts were prepared, characterized and tested in the glycerol etherification process, assisted by microwaves, in order to obtain biodiesel additives. The surface and structural properties of the catalysts were investigated by means of N adsorption isotherms, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and acid capacity measurements by X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF). The best performance in terms of activity was achieved in the presence of the sulfonic function directly linked to the amorphous silica. By the correlation of the structure properties of the materials and their activity, the performance of the catalysts was shown to be influenced mainly by the surface area, pore volume and acidity. Recycling experiments performed over the most active systems showed that the sulfonic silica-based materials maintained their performance during several cycles.
ISSN:1996-1944
1996-1944
DOI:10.3390/ma13071584