Glycerol Carbonate Production via Transesterification: The Effect of Support Porosity and Catalyst Basicity

Glycerol transesterification with diethyl carbonate (DEC) using catalysts with different porosities as support for CaO was performed, seeking the evaluation of how textural properties influence glycerol conversion and product selectivity. A total of 20% CaO was supported on ZSM-5, K-10, MCM-41, SiO2, and γ-Al2O3. Catalysts showed a well-dispersed active phase of CaO in all the supports and no changes in the support crystalline structure were noticed. Reactions were performed in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), 10 wt.% of catalyst in relation to glycerol, at 130 °C, and 1:3 glycerol/DEC molar ratio. According to our results, the higher the pore volume and pore size, the higher the glycerol conversion. On the other hand, concerning selectivity, higher glycerol carbonate selectivities were reached when strong basic sites were present. A total of 86% glycerol conversion and 91% glycerol carbonate selectivity were found using 60% CaO supported on γ-Al2O3 after 5 h of reaction.