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Boosting the chemical hydrogenolysis of glycerol to 1,2-propanediol to almost perfect selectivity using a multifunctional Ru–Cu carbon-nanotube-supported catalyst
Citation Link: https://doi.org/10.15480/882.16964
Publikationstyp
Journal Article
Date Issued
2026-04-03
Sprache
English
Author(s)
Nazanin Taherkhani
Lumpp, Dominique
Paschalidis, Leandros
TORE-DOI
Citation
ACS sustainable chemistry & engineering (in Press): 2026
Publisher DOI
Publisher
ACS Publ.
Peer Reviewed
true
Chemical hydrogenolysis of glycerol to propanediols is a promising strategy for biomass valorization. However, the demanding reaction conditions and deviating requirements for the individual reaction steps cause significant challenges to date. Herein, a kinetic study for the chemical hydrogenolysis of glycerol to 1,2-propanediol (1,2-PDO) as well as an optimized reaction procedure using a multifunctional Ru–Cu/CNT catalyst is presented. In detail, it was shown that the glycerol hydrogenolysis reaction is neither influenced by mass nor heat transfer limitations under the applied reaction conditions. Consequently, the following kinetic parameters could be deduced both by experimental determination as well as kinetic modeling: n (glycerol) = 1.1, n (H2) = 0.12 up to 25 bar (kinetic regime), and an activation energy of 150 kJ mol–1 for the desired 1,2-PDO pathway, as well as n (glycerol) = n (H2) = 0 for the undesired ethylene glycol pathway at an activation energy of around 65 kJ mol–1. Moreover, separating glycerol hydrogenolysis into two steps, initial glycerol dehydration to acetol under a nitrogen atmosphere at a high temperature of 220 °C, followed by acetol hydrogenation to 1,2-PDO under a hydrogen atmosphere at a low temperature of 145 °C using the same Ru–Cu/CNT catalyst, can lead to higher overall yields and almost perfect selectivity for 1,2-PDO. This could be verified in a separate experiment showing acetol selectivity of >99% for the first and 1,2-PDO selectivity of >99% for the second step without observable ethylene glycol production. Compared to the combined reaction under standard hydrogenolysis conditions of 50 bar H2 and 220 °C, almost perfect 1,2-PDO selectivity could be achieved, showing great potential for the separate approach. Moreover, a kinetic model of the glycerol hydrogenolysis based on the experimentally derived reaction rates confirms that the models reliably reproduce the observed reaction behavior with respect to the observed kinetic parameters.
Subjects
glycerol hydrogenolysis
1,2-propanediol
kinetics
multifunctional catalyst
carbon nanotubes
DDC Class
660.2: Chemical Engineering
572: Biochemistry
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