This research was focused on the valorisation of glycerol, exploring the feasibility of an efficient route for oxygenated additives production based on its etherification with bio-butanol. A home-made BEA zeolite sample with a tuneable acidity has been proposed as the catalytic system, being tested in a stirred reactor under different etherification conditions. Although a reaction temperature as high as 200 °C resulted to be beneficial in terms of glycerol conversion (~90%), only by operating at milder conditions the product selectivity to glycerol-ethers can be better controlled, in order to obtain a bio-fuel complying with the requirements for mixing with fossil diesel or biodiesel, without any need of purification from large amount of by-products. A comprehensive identification of all the compounds formed during the reaction was performed by a GC–MS analysis, on the basis of the complex network of consecutive and parallel reaction paths leading not only to the desired ethers, but also to many side products not detected in similar acid-catalyzed reactions in liquid phase and not available in the most used mass-spectra libraries.
Zeolite-assisted etherification of glycerol with butanol for biodiesel oxygenated additives production
Migliori M.;Giordano G.;
2020-01-01
Abstract
This research was focused on the valorisation of glycerol, exploring the feasibility of an efficient route for oxygenated additives production based on its etherification with bio-butanol. A home-made BEA zeolite sample with a tuneable acidity has been proposed as the catalytic system, being tested in a stirred reactor under different etherification conditions. Although a reaction temperature as high as 200 °C resulted to be beneficial in terms of glycerol conversion (~90%), only by operating at milder conditions the product selectivity to glycerol-ethers can be better controlled, in order to obtain a bio-fuel complying with the requirements for mixing with fossil diesel or biodiesel, without any need of purification from large amount of by-products. A comprehensive identification of all the compounds formed during the reaction was performed by a GC–MS analysis, on the basis of the complex network of consecutive and parallel reaction paths leading not only to the desired ethers, but also to many side products not detected in similar acid-catalyzed reactions in liquid phase and not available in the most used mass-spectra libraries.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
