Application of Metal Catalysts for High Selectivity of Glycerol Conversion to Alcohols. Final Report

摘要

The objective of this project is to determine the applicability of metal-based catalysts and optimize the process conditions for thermochemically producing primary alcohols. Metal catalysts were evaluated for their selectivities for producing alcohols, specifically methanol, ethanol, and propanol. Raney nickel catalyst showed the best activity and application of Raney catalysts greatly improved the selectivity towards alcohols. Water was found to be significant in the catalytic thermochemical conversion of glycerol to alcohols. Additionally, water inhibited tar formation thus improved the product yields. Reaction temperature, reaction time, application rate of catalysts, and initial water to glycerol ratio (WTGR) were identified as the most important process parameters. Ethanol production increased at extended reaction time and increased WTGR. It was also influenced by the catalyst application rate in a linear relationship. However, adding catalyst higher than 7%wt did not further improve the productivity. Meanwhile, methanol formation was only significantly affected by the initial composition of the reactants and the operating temperature in both batch and fed-batch experiments. The optimum condition for producing ethanol was found to be at 1.82 WTGR and 223 degrees C for 45 min of reaction and using 10%wt of Raney nickel catalyst. The highest yield of ethanol at this condition was 11.37 %mol.