Premium
Glycerol upgrading by ketalization in a zeolite membrane reactor
Author(s) -
Roldán Laura,
Mallada Reyes,
Fraile José M.,
Mayoral José A.,
Menéndez Miguel
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
asia‐pacific journal of chemical engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.348
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 1932-2143
pISSN - 1932-2135
DOI - 10.1002/apj.243
Subject(s) - glycerol , chemistry , acetone , zeolite , biodiesel , membrane reactor , catalysis , membrane , solvent , organic chemistry , ethanol , biodiesel production , chemical engineering , chromatography , biochemistry , engineering
Solketal, a valuable green solvent, has been produced from glycerol and acetone in a catalytic system, using K10 montmorillonite as a heterogeneous catalyst. The use of a zeolite membrane to remove water formed during the reaction gives rise to a significant improvement in the achievable glycerol conversion with a reduction in the excess of acetone needed because of the low equilibrium constant. Several zeolite membranes are compared, showing that the quality of the membrane is a key factor for this improvement, and that water/acetone separation is more difficult to achieve than the commonly used ethanol/water separation test. This method is compatible with a mixture of glycerol and fatty esters, showing the possible future application in an integrated system of biodiesel and solketal production. Copyright © 2009 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.