Eco-friendly synthesis of valuable fuel bio-additives from glycerol
Christianah Aarinola Akinnawo, Lebohang Mosia, Oyekunle Azeez Alimi, Charles O. Oseghale, Dele Peter Fapojuwo, Ndzondelelo Bingwa, Reinout Meijboom
Abstract
The drastic surplus of glycerol resulting from biodiesel production requires an effective catalytic valorization to ensure biodiesel industry's sustainability. Herein, a series of highly crystalline ZrO2 with mesopore structure were prepared via the inverse micelle technique. Under mild conditions, meso-ZrO2 showed good stability and selectivity to 1,3-dioxane larger than 50% in the solvent-free glycerol acetalization with aldehydes. The performance was attributed to the high surface area and Lewis acidity. We believe that the green application of meso-ZrO2 catalysts for the sustainable acetalization of glycerol herein reported might be easily extended to other bio-based industrial processes.