Continuous Valorization of Glycerol into Solketal: Recent Advances on Catalysts, Processes, and Industrial Perspectives
With the global biodiesel production growing as never seen before, encouraged by government policies, fiscal incentives, and emissions laws to control air pollution, there has been the collateral effect of generating massive amounts of crude glycerol, a by-product from the biodiesel industry. The po...
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doaj-a0c026c9476b4b918a9df02e781156a82021-04-21T23:03:56ZengMDPI AGSustainable Chemistry2673-40792021-04-0121728632410.3390/suschem2020017Continuous Valorization of Glycerol into Solketal: Recent Advances on Catalysts, Processes, and Industrial PerspectivesIsabella Corrêa0Rui P. V. Faria1Alírio E. Rodrigues2Laboratory of Separation and Reaction Engineering–Laboratory of Catalysis and Materials (LSRE-LCM), Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, PortugalLaboratory of Separation and Reaction Engineering–Laboratory of Catalysis and Materials (LSRE-LCM), Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, PortugalLaboratory of Separation and Reaction Engineering–Laboratory of Catalysis and Materials (LSRE-LCM), Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, PortugalWith the global biodiesel production growing as never seen before, encouraged by government policies, fiscal incentives, and emissions laws to control air pollution, there has been the collateral effect of generating massive amounts of crude glycerol, a by-product from the biodiesel industry. The positive effect of minimizing CO<sub>2</sub> emissions using biofuels is jeopardized by the fact that the waste generated by this industry represents an enormous environmental disadvantage. The strategy of viewing “waste as a resource” led the scientific community to propose numerous processes that use glycerol as raw material. Solketal, the product of the reaction of glycerol and acetone, stands out as a promising fuel additive capable of enhancing fuel octane number and oxidation stability, diminishing particle emissions and gum formation, and enhancing properties at low temperatures. The production of this chemical can rely on several of the Green Chemistry principles, besides fitting the Circular Economy Model, once it can be reinserted in the biofuel production chain. This paper reviews the recent advances in solketal production, focusing on continuous production processes and on Process Intensification strategies. The performance of different catalysts under various operational conditions is summarized and the proposed industrial solketal production processes are compared.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4079/2/2/17glycerol valorizationsolketalcontinuous processheterogeneous catalystGreen Chemistryprocess intensification strategies |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Isabella Corrêa Rui P. V. Faria Alírio E. Rodrigues |
spellingShingle |
Isabella Corrêa Rui P. V. Faria Alírio E. Rodrigues Continuous Valorization of Glycerol into Solketal: Recent Advances on Catalysts, Processes, and Industrial Perspectives Sustainable Chemistry glycerol valorization solketal continuous process heterogeneous catalyst Green Chemistry process intensification strategies |
author_facet |
Isabella Corrêa Rui P. V. Faria Alírio E. Rodrigues |
author_sort |
Isabella Corrêa |
title |
Continuous Valorization of Glycerol into Solketal: Recent Advances on Catalysts, Processes, and Industrial Perspectives |
title_short |
Continuous Valorization of Glycerol into Solketal: Recent Advances on Catalysts, Processes, and Industrial Perspectives |
title_full |
Continuous Valorization of Glycerol into Solketal: Recent Advances on Catalysts, Processes, and Industrial Perspectives |
title_fullStr |
Continuous Valorization of Glycerol into Solketal: Recent Advances on Catalysts, Processes, and Industrial Perspectives |
title_full_unstemmed |
Continuous Valorization of Glycerol into Solketal: Recent Advances on Catalysts, Processes, and Industrial Perspectives |
title_sort |
continuous valorization of glycerol into solketal: recent advances on catalysts, processes, and industrial perspectives |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Sustainable Chemistry |
issn |
2673-4079 |
publishDate |
2021-04-01 |
description |
With the global biodiesel production growing as never seen before, encouraged by government policies, fiscal incentives, and emissions laws to control air pollution, there has been the collateral effect of generating massive amounts of crude glycerol, a by-product from the biodiesel industry. The positive effect of minimizing CO<sub>2</sub> emissions using biofuels is jeopardized by the fact that the waste generated by this industry represents an enormous environmental disadvantage. The strategy of viewing “waste as a resource” led the scientific community to propose numerous processes that use glycerol as raw material. Solketal, the product of the reaction of glycerol and acetone, stands out as a promising fuel additive capable of enhancing fuel octane number and oxidation stability, diminishing particle emissions and gum formation, and enhancing properties at low temperatures. The production of this chemical can rely on several of the Green Chemistry principles, besides fitting the Circular Economy Model, once it can be reinserted in the biofuel production chain. This paper reviews the recent advances in solketal production, focusing on continuous production processes and on Process Intensification strategies. The performance of different catalysts under various operational conditions is summarized and the proposed industrial solketal production processes are compared. |
topic |
glycerol valorization solketal continuous process heterogeneous catalyst Green Chemistry process intensification strategies |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4079/2/2/17 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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