The choice of active site and support medium decides the activity of a catalyst. Modifications on either of these will have a significant impact on the reactivity and selectivity. On the other hand, every 100 Kg of biodiesel production generates 10 Kg of crude glycerol as a major by-product. Flooding of such additional glycerol in the already saturated market, downgrade its market value. To address this, significant efforts have been devoted to bridge the gap between sustainable production of biodiesel and valorisation of glycerol for its potential applications. Among the diverse chemistry, acetalization of glycerol with carbonyl compounds has gained significant interest to construct five-membered dioxolane (solketal) and six-membered dioxanes (cyclic acetals/ketals). Here we have synthesised WO<sub>3</sub> loaded boehmite and applied them for acetalization of biomass derived bulk chemical, glycerol. The well-characterized acid catalyst, exhibit a selective acetalization of glycerol with good conversions to five-membered dioxolane product. The cyclability of catalyst upto six times with retention of catalytic activity ensures the heterogeneity of the material. Detailed synthesis of catalysts and the associated catalysis on glycerol will be discussed in detail.

Selective acetalization of glycerol using modified boehmite catalyst

ACS Fall 2021

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