Vapor phase hydrogenolysis of glycerol to 1,2-propanediol at atmospheric pressure over copper catalysts supported on mesoporous alumina

MARIA L DIEUZEIDE; RODRIGO DE URTIAGA; MATIAS JOBBAGY; NORMA AMADEO

CATALYSIS TODAY

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2017 vol. 296 p. 19 - 25

0920-5861

The present work explores the hydrogenolysis of glycerol to produce 1,2-propanediol in vapor phase at atmosphericpressure over copper catalysts supported on mesoporous alumina. Catalysts were prepared by aluminaimpregnation varying CuO loading between 3 wt% and 30 wt%. The textural and structural characteristics of thecatalysts were determined by N2 sorptometry (BET), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), temperature programmedreduction (TPR) and N2O chemisorption (copper metallic area). The characterization showed that all catalystspresent textural properties characteristic of mesoporous solids, such as the adsorption isotherms which are typeIV. Based both on characterization and activity results, it was possible to conclude that the yield to 1,2-propanediolpresented a non-monotonic dependence on total copper metallic area. In addition, it was proved that1,2-propanediol production is associated with the presence of highly dispersed CuO phase in the solids.Promising results were obtained with CuO(15)Al catalysts, taking into account that the performance can beimproved by increasing residence time.