Continuous-Flow Glycerolysis of Urea to Glycerol Carbonate: The Critical Role of Operating Pressure
A combined theoretical and experimental study on the carbonylation of glycerol with urea has identified low operating pressure as a key parameter for process optimization. Based on these insights, an improved multiple-pass continuous-flow system was developed, enabling the solvent-free synthesis of glycerol carbonate (GC) with enhanced efficiency. The optimized process achieved a productivity of ∼130 g/day, delivering high purity (>95%), and an isolated yield of 80%, thereby demonstrating the viability of this approach for sustainable GC production.
Authors
- Andrea Severini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7536-8104)
- Fabrizio Roncaglia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7630-4375)
- Marco Rivi
- Veronica D’Eusanio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7808-1256)
- Biagio Anderlini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4641-3137)
- Nicola Porcelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-6054-9463)
- Claudio Fontanesi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1183-2406)
- Antonio Lezza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-6773-7081)
- Marianna Burello
- Marco Mazzali
Institutions
- University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (IT)
- National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research
- Published
- 2025-09-10
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.5c02554
- Primary Topic
- Carbon dioxide utilization in catalysis
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00