Efficient production of propylene in the catalytic conversion of glycerol

Vapor-phase catalytic conversion of glycerol into propylene was performed over Cu/Al2O3 and acid-loaded Cu/Al2O3 catalysts in an H-2 flow at ambient pressure. Acidic substances such as WO3, MoO3, V2O5 and H3PO4 were loaded on a commercial Cu/Al2O3. The addition of WO3 was found to be effective for promoting the formation of 1-propanol and propylene from glycerol, and 9.3 wt% WO3-loaded Cu/Al2O3(WO3/Cu/Al2O3) catalyst showed the best catalytic performance. WO3/Cu/Al2O3 calcined at a low temperature of 320 degrees C had the largest number of acid sites and gave a 1-proponol selectivity of 38.2% and a propylene selectivity of 47.4% in an H-2 flow at 250 degrees C. The catalytic reaction of glycerol was performed over double-bed catalysts, in which WO3/Cu/Al2O3 was charged in the upper bed and a commercial silica-alumina was charged in the lower bed, to promote the conversion of 1-propanol into propylene. A high propylene selectivity of 84.8% was obtained over the double-bed catalysts at 100% glycerol conversion. An efficient catalytic process for the production of propylene from glycerol was proposed. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.