Issue 9, 2024, Issue in Progress

Glycerol carbonate synthesis via transesterification of enriched glycerol and dimethyl carbonate using a Li-incorporated MCM-41 framework

Abstract

Waste crude glycerol was successfully enriched and utilized as an inexpensive source for producing value-added chemicals, such as glycerol carbonate (GC) – a valuable compound with extensive industrial applications. The Li/MCM-41 heterogeneous catalyst was synthesized and used for the transesterification of enriched glycerol and dimethyl carbonate (DMC) to produce GC. The catalyst's physicochemical properties were characterized using thermogravimetric, Hammett indicator, inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption–desorption, X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analyses. Reaction conditions were optimized using response surface methodology and analysis of variance, yielding an accurate quadratic model to predict the GC yield under different transesterification variables. The results revealed that 5%Li/MCM-41 served as the optimal catalyst, achieving the highest TOF of 4.72 h−1. The DMC: enriched glycerol molar ratio had the greatest impact on the GC yield, with an R2 = 0.9743 and adjusted R2 = 0.9502. The optimal GC yield (58.77%) with a final purity of 78% was attained at a 5.15 wt% catalyst loading relative to the initial amount of enriched glycerol, DMC: enriched glycerol molar ratio of 4.24 : 1, and a reaction temperature of 86 °C for 165 min. The 5%Li/MCM-41 heterogeneous catalyst could be reused for four cycles with a decreased GC yield from 58.77% to 45.72%. Thus, the Li/MCM-41 catalyst demonstrated a remarkable efficiency and potential as a heterogeneous catalyst for synthesizing GC. This method not only contributes to environmental sustainability by making use of a byproduct from biodiesel production but also aligns with the principles of a circular economy.

Graphical abstract: Glycerol carbonate synthesis via transesterification of enriched glycerol and dimethyl carbonate using a Li-incorporated MCM-41 framework

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
11 Jan 2024
Accepted
30 Jan 2024
First published
19 Feb 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

RSC Adv., 2024,14, 5941-5958

Glycerol carbonate synthesis via transesterification of enriched glycerol and dimethyl carbonate using a Li-incorporated MCM-41 framework

J. Jitjamnong, P. Khongprom, T. Ratanawilai and S. Ratanawilai, RSC Adv., 2024, 14, 5941 DOI: 10.1039/D4RA00290C

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements