Optimized Synthesis of Glycerol Carbonate Via Naoh-Catalyzed Transesterification: A Green Approach for Glycerol Valorization
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Currently, the growing demand for biodiesel makes the by-product glycerol available in large quantities at reduced prices. Among the valuable chemicals produced by glycerol recovery, glycerol carbonate and glycidol are the most prominent. Glycidol being produced from the decomposition of glycerol carbonate. They are the raw materials for the preparation of polyglycerols, glycidyl ethers, polyurethanes and pharmaceuticals. One of the most promising routes for industrial application would be the transesterification between glycerol and dimethylcarbonate. Because of low toxicity, medium volatility and high polarity, dimethylcarbonate is an emerging chemical and its use as a green solvent is increasing. In this work, the study of the production of glycerol carbonate via direct reaction with dimethylcarbonate (DMC), using NaOH as homogeneous catalyst, was carried out. The influence of the variables: temperature (T), molar ratio (RM) and percentage of catalyst (C) were explored, aiming to maximize the conversion of glycerol (Xgly) and the selectivity of glycerol carbonate (SCG), through a factorial design 2 3 using the Statistica software 10. The reaction of glycerol with DMC was performed under the conditions of T (80; 100; 120°C), C (3; 4; 5%) in relation to the initial mass of glycerol and RM (1 :2; 1:3; 1:4), time 1 h and stirring at 600 rpm. The reaction products were characterized by gas chromatography with FID detector. The chromatograms confirmed the formation of glycerol carbonate and the effectiveness of the NaOH catalyst. The highest selectivity and GC yield was 63.78 and 62.84%, respectively for a glycerol conversion of 98.52%, which occurred at 120°C, RM (gly:DCM) 1:4 and 3% of catalyst. With the planning, 1 linear regression model was obtained for the yield response to glycerol carbonate (RCG), where the factors that influenced were: temperature > molar ratio (gly:DCM) > percentage of catalyst (C).
