Synthesis of Jet Fuel from Glycerol and tert-Butyl Alcohol under Microwave Irradiation

Abstract

Biodiesel is an excellent renewable fuel, but a large amount of glycerol formed along with the manufacture of biodiesel. Catalytic production of jet fuel via etherification of glycerol and tert-butyl alcohol could pave a way for the valuable utilization of the surplus byproduct. In this work, the synthesis of jet fuel from glycerol with different energy supply methods was explored over a series of solid acids. It was found that a copolymer of divinylbenzene and p-styrenesulfonic acid (PS-x) exhibited excellent performance and stability for this reaction, and microwave irradiation can accelerate this process noticeably. The detected conversion of glycerol reached 81.3% at 80 °C within 1.5 h under 300 W microwave irradiation, and the highest turnover frequency of each acid site in PS-0.2 attained 415.9 h–1. Characterization results indicated that PS-0.2 possessed a high acidity (0.9 mmol/g) and a large surface area (770.6 m2/g) with a hierarchical pore structure. At the same time, kinetic analysis also disclosed that microwave irradiation can decrease the activation energy of this reaction compared with that of a conventional heating method.

Hydrophobic Mesoporous Polymeric Acid Catalysts for Glycerol Coetherification with Isobutene and tert-Butanol

“…BET tests show that the pore capacity became smaller with the increase in the introduced sulfonic acid groups. It is more difficult for reactants to approach the active sites inside the pores, thus reducing their utilization efficiency. , The relatively low TOF of PDVB-0.1-SO 3 H was probably due to its extreme hydrophobicity, which prevented the approaching of glycerol.…”

“…Liu et al − successfully synthesized superhydrophobic porous polymeric acids through copolymerization of divinylbenzene with sodium p -styrene sulfonate, demonstrating excellent activity in esterification and condensation reactions involving water formation. A similar hydrophobic catalyst was applied to the glycerol etherification with TBA, achieving a glycerol conversion of 81.3% under a 353.15 K in 1.5 h. Kanakikodi et al controlled the molar ratio of divinylbenzene to sodium p -styrenesulfonate (SPSS) to synthesize the hydrophobic catalyst P-SO 3 H-70:30, which was utilized in the etherification reaction of glycerol with IB, resulting in a HE yield of 92.14%. These hydrophobic catalysts exhibit excellent activity in isolated glycerol etherification with IB or TBA.…”

The Journal of Physical Chemistry C Virtual Special Issue on “Energy and Catalysis in China”

“…These papers can be roughly classified as follows. (1) Energy catalysis: conversion of syngas to higher alcohols on CoMn-modified Cu-based mixed oxides, direct methane conversion to methanol on PdAu nanowires, hydrogenation of CO 2 to ethanol on Na-promoted Rh embedded in S-1 zeolites, oxidative coupling of methane on A +1 Nb 5+ O 3 (A = Li, Na, K) perovskites, and synthesis of jet fuel from glycerol and tert -butyl alcohol on organic solid acid catalysts . (2) Environmental catalysis: catalytic elimination of soot and NO x on Mn-based perovskites, catalytic dehydrochlorination of dichloroethane on porous carbon, oxidation of propane and CO on reducible oxide-supported Pt or PtCu nanocatalysts, , complete oxidation of benzene on Pt SACs, preferential oxidation of CO on Cu x Ce 1– x O 2 nanorods, CO oxidation on Pd/ZnO catalysts or Au–Fe 2 O 3 interfaces, and selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxide with methane on Co-exchanged SSZ-13 zeolite catalysts .…”

“…(1) Energy catalysis: conversion of syngas to higher alcohols on CoMnmodified Cu-based mixed oxides, 26 direct methane conversion to methanol on PdAu nanowires, 27 hydrogenation of CO 2 to ethanol on Na-promoted Rh embedded in S-1 zeolites, 28 oxidative coupling of methane on A +1 Nb 5+ O 3 (A = Li, Na, K) perovskites, 29 and synthesis of jet fuel from glycerol and tertbutyl alcohol on organic solid acid catalysts. 30 (2) Environmental catalysis: catalytic elimination of soot and NO x on Mnbased perovskites, 31 ethane on porous carbon, 32 oxidation of propane and CO on reducible oxide-supported Pt or PtCu nanocatalysts, 33,34 complete oxidation of benzene on Pt SACs, 35 preferential oxidation of CO on Cu x Ce 1−x O 2 nanorods, 36 CO oxidation on Pd/ZnO catalysts 37 or Au−Fe 2 O 3 interfaces, 38 and selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxide with methane on Coexchanged SSZ-13 zeolite catalysts. 39 (3) Synthesis of fine chemicals: selective reduction of nitrobenzene on iron and nitrogen cofunctionalized carbon materials 40 or PtPdCu/ Al 2 O 3 , 41 hydrogenation of quinoline and benzoic acid on RhPt/MCM-41, 42 hydroformylation of diisobutene on CoFe alloy catalysts, 43 and selective hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde to cinnamyl alcohol on Pt@Fe-CeO 2 catalysts 44 or Pt/ TiO 2 .…”