The use of bio-resources as renewable feedstocks for energy and chemicals production has been an important focus of catalysis research for energy sustainability. Acrolein (AC) is an improtant intermediate for a number of key molecules and materials. A selective acrolein (AC) production by double dehydration of aqueous glycerol (GL, a popular bio-based platform molecule) over solid catalysts would entitle a sustainble alternative to conventional petroleum (propylene) based AC production technology.This presentation will start with an overview on earlier studies of this reaction using different kinds of solid acid-base catalysts including (including aluminium phosphate, hydrated niobium oxide, binary metal oxides, zeolites, tungstated zirconia, supported heteropolyacids and others), highlighting a requirement for water-resistent strong solid acid catalyst for selective AC production. It will be shown that those catalysts featuring strongly acidic sites in their fresh dry states, with Hammett acidity function (H0) in the range -8.2 < H0 = -3.0, are probably the most effective catalytic sites enabling a high AC selectivity under high feed space velocity but basic sites at the catalyst surface would discourage the formation of AC. A number of examples would then be given to address the state-of-art situation in developing solid acid catalysts for this GL-to-AC chemistry.

Performance of solid acid-base catalysts for production of acrolein by gas-phase dehydration of aqueous glycerol

248th National Meeting (2014)

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