Continuous flow transformations of glycerol to valuable products: an overview

Abstract

Glycerol conversion to valuable products has been a research avenue that attracted a significant interest in recent years due to its large available volumes (as by-product of biodiesel production) and the different possibilities for chemical and biological conversion into high added value chemicals profiting from the unique presence of three hydroxyl groups in its structure. The utilization of continuous flow processes in combination with transformation of platform chemicals (e.g. glycerol) can offer several advantages to batch processes in view of their potential implementation in industry. This minireview has been aimed to highlight most recent key continuous flow systems for glycerol valorization to valuable products using different types of catalysts and processes.

Highly Active Catalytic Ruthenium/TiO2 Nanomaterials for Continuous Production of γ‐Valerolactone

“…[6][7][8][9][10] Due to the complexity and recalcitrance of abundant lignocellulosicb iomass, the direct transformation of these feedstocks into valuable products (fuels, chemicals, and materials) has emerged as ab ottleneck, [11,12] whereas the valorization of carbohydrates derived from lignocellulosic biomass through differents trategies has been widely reported. [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] Levulinic acid (LA) is one of the most promising primary building blocks and platform moleculesf rom biomass refinery,w hich is select-ed as one of the top 12 sugar-derived building blocks [23] and the top 10 chemical opportunities from biorefinery carbohydrates [24] by the US Department of Energy( DOE). Therefore, there is great potential to valorize LA and its ester deviriates, alkyl levulinates, into more valuable products,s uch as g-valerolatone (GVL).…”

Multicomponent NiSnCeO 2 /C catalysts for the low-temperature glycerol steam reforming

“…Typically, glycerol is converted to more valuable products through reforming reactions [5]. In this sense, steam reforming of glycerol is one of the most common routes.…”

New efficient and recyclable catalysts for the synthesis of di- and tri-glycerol carbonates

“…Acrolein, obtained from the dehydration of glycerol, [14][15][16][17][18][19] is used in situ for the synthesis of acrylic acid. 20,21 The catalytic hydrogenolysis of glycerol is a route to increase the profitability of biodiesel production plants.…”