A Novel Method for the Production of Acrolein and Acrylic Acid from Glycerol in Carbon Dioxide Media
Published:4/24/2020Description:
The Problem
Worldwide biodiesel production is creating an overabundance of crude glycerol. It is projected that by the year 2020, the supply of glycerol will be six times more than demand. Therefore, development of sustainable processes for utilizing this organic raw material is important for the biodiesel industry.
Acrolein can be produced via the dehydration of glycerol and can be oxidized to form the commercially important compound, acrylic acid. The conversion of glycerol to acrolein, however, is limited by the fast accumulation of “coke” on the dehydration catalyst. This buildup of coke on the catalyst reduces the efficiency of the dehydration reaction over a short time, so the catalyst must be changed or regenerated frequently. The catalyst deactivation and impurities in crude glycerol have been two major technical problems hindering the commercial production of acrolein/acrylic acid from glycerol.
The Technology Solution
Researchers at the University of Tennessee have developed a method that utilizes a “green” reaction medium to significantly reduce catalyst coking and increase the dehydration reaction efficiency. The method uses crude glycerol as feedstock and allows for more than 500 hours Time-on-Stream (TOS) using fixed-bed solid catalysts while maintaining high yield of acrolein and acrylic acid. Importantly, in side-by-side tests acrolein yield in the traditional gas-phase reaction decreased to 50% glycerol conversion whereas the novel method maintained glycerol conversion at close to 100%.
Zou, Bin, Shoujie Ren, and X.Phillip Ye. "Glycerol dehydration to acrolein catalyzed by ZSM-5 zeolite in supercritical carbon dioxide medium." ChemSusChem 9.23 (2016): 3268-3271.
Applications
Biobased chemical production
Benefits
• Directly uses crude glycerol as feedstock with minimum pretreatment
• Green process engineering using fixed-bed solid catalysts and environmentally friendly reaction media
• Unique novel process suppressing catalyst deactivation and facilitating product separation
• Yields higher productivity than previous methods
• Reduces operation costs
• Increases the efficiency of existing technology
The Inventor
Dr. Xiaofei “Philip” Ye is an Associate Professor at the University of Tennessee in the Department of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science. His research focuses on the interface between biological systems and engineering processes to enhance the conversion of bio-renewables into energy, chemicals, and materials. Dr. Ye received his M.S. in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering from South Dakota State University, and his Ph.D. in Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering from the University of Minnesota.
Contact
The University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF) is a non-profit corporation responsible for commercializing University of Tennessee technologies and for supporting University research. UTRF is seeking parties interested in learning more about this technology and in exploring possible research and/or commercialization arrangements.