Transacetalization of Glycerol With 2,2-Dimethoxypropane Using Zeolites Under Mild Conditions

Abstract

The acetalization or transacetalization reactions produce acetals or ketals used in cosmetics, food, pharmaceuticals, and fuel additives. Besides synthesizing several products, the acetalization or transacetalization reactions can protect carbonyl groups, 1,2 and 1,3-diols in multi-step synthesis. This work studies the transacetalization of glycerol with 2,2-dimethoxypropane (2,2-DMP) to yield 2,2-dimethyl-4-hydroxymethyl-1,3-dioxolane (solketal) by catalyzing with USY, HBeta, and HZSM-5 zeolites under cleaner and mild reaction conditions (reaction temperature: 25 °C; 2,2-DMP/glycerol molar ratio: 1; reaction time: 1 h; and catalyst concentration: 0.05-5 wt.%). For catalyst concentration equal to or greater than 2,5 wt.%, glycerol conversion stabilized near 96-97% for the three zeolites tested. The product selectivities also assume a constant value, close to 97% for solketal. For the lowest concentration of catalyst, the influence of the zeolite properties on the glycerol conversion, such as acidity and the strong/weak acid site ratio, was observed. Concerning the selectivity of the products, the results suggested that it can be based on zeolite topology, active sites at the particle surface, and the relative amount of micro and mesoporous HBeta, the most selective catalyst for acetals production, was reused at least once without loss of activity and selectivity.