Relationship between mixed metal oxides properties and their role in glycerol valuation

Abstract

Biofuels are renewable solutions to replace the ever dwindling energy reserves and environmentally pollutant fossil liquid fuels. They are produced from low cost sustainable feedstocks. Biodiesel is mainly produced from vegetable oils or animal fats by the method of transesterification reaction using catalysts. Therefore, large surpluses of glycerol will be generated that require new commercial uses. Glycerol is used as an ingredient in cosmetics, paint, automotive industry, foods, pharmaceutical products, pulp and paper, leather and textiles, among many other applications (1). Homogeneous catalysts are conventionally used for glycerol valuation. Unfortunately, homogeneous catalysts are associated with problems which might increase the cost of production due to separation steps and emission of waste water. Inorganic heterogeneous catalysts are potentially low cost and can solve many of the problems encountered in homogeneous catalysts. In this paper, mixed metal oxides as transesterification catalysts are studied. Especially the relationship between physicochemical properties and catalytic activity was revised. Mixed metal oxides obtained by thermal decomposition of Layered Double Hydroxides have been studied in the transesterification of methyl stearate to monoglycerides production. In order to increase the basic property of the Mg-Al oxide from the hydrotalcite a third metal during the synthesis of the materials (Li, K or Cs) was incorporated. The preparative methods adopted in this study were direct co-precipitation and impregnation methods (2). All samples were examined by X-ray Diffraction, Surface Area determined by the BET method, pore size distributions, adsorption and Temperature-Programmed Desorption of CO2 and Inductive Coupled Plasma spectroscopy. The catalytic activity was performed by the transesterification reaction in a batch reactor at 220º C and the products were analyzed by Gas Chromatography. The catalytic results showed that conversion and selectivity to monoglyceride increased, specially, with the basic sites density. The oxide with Li incorporated by co-precipitation showed most metal proportion incorporated and most medium basic sites density. Also this material presented the highest catalytic performance