Vapour-Phase Hydrogenolysis of Glycerol to 1,3-Propanediol Over Supported Pt Catalysts: The Effect of Supports on the Catalytic Functionalities

• Published in: Catalysis letters Vol. 144; no. 12; pp. 2129 - 2143
• Main Authors: Priya, Samudrala Shanthi, Kumar, Vanama Pavan, Kantam, Mannepalli Lakshmi, Bhargava, Suresh K., Chary, Komandur V. R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-12-2014; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Activated carbon; Aluminum compounds; Aluminum oxide; Aluminum phosphate; Ammonia; Catalysis; Catalysts; Catalytic activity; Chemical properties; Chemical synthesis; Chemisorption; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Conversion; Exact sciences and technology; General and physical chemistry; Glycerin; Glycerol; Hydrogenation; Hydrogenolysis; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Infrared spectroscopy; Organic chemistry; Organometallic Chemistry; Physical Chemistry; Platinum; Pyridine; Selectivity; Sulfates; Theory of reactions, general kinetics. Catalysis. Nomenclature, chemical documentation, computer chemistry; Transitional aluminas; Vapor phases; Zeolites; Zirconium dioxide; Glycerol; 1,3-Propanediol; Hydrogenolysis; Platinum; Heterogeneous catalysis; Catalytic reaction; Support; Transition metal; Propanediol; Supported catalyst
• ISSN: 1011-372X; 1572-879X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10562-014-1395-1

Platinum catalysts with 2 % (w/w) Pt supported on ZrO
2
, Sulfated ZrO
2
, γ-Al
2
O
3
, AlPO
4
, activated carbon and Y-Zeolite have been investigated for the selective vapour phase hydrogenolysis of biomass derived glycerol to 1,3-propanediol at moderate reaction temperature and atmospheric pressure. All the catalysts were synthesized by the wet impregnation method using chloroplatinic acid precursor. The physico-chemical properties of the catalysts were investigated by XRD, FTIR, SEM, CO-chemisorption, TPR, TEM, NH
3
-TPD and Pyridine adsorbed FTIR spectroscopy. The catalytic experimental results combined with the characterization studies showed that the glycerol conversion and the yield of 1,3-propanediol greatly depend on the nature of the support. The results also suggest that a correlation exists between catalytic activity and acidity. A key parameter to assess the best catalyst performance is the dispersion of Pt on the support and the metal-support interaction. Among various supported Pt catalysts screened for vapour phase glycerol hydrogenolysis, the Pt/AlPO
4
catalyst exhibited the best activity towards glycerol conversion (100 %) and 1,3-propanediol selectivity (35.4 %).
Graphical Abstract
.