Transesterification of glycerol with dimethyl carbonate over Mg-Al hydrotalcites

Abstract Glycerol carbonate (GC) was synthesized via the catalytic transesterification of glycerol with dimethyl carbonate over a series of Mg-Al hydrotalcites with different Mg/Al ratios (0.5–6) under mild conditions. All catalysts exhibited a high selectivity toward GC. The sample with Mg/Al = 2 exhibited 97.1% of selectivity toward GC and 66.9% of glycerol conversion at 70 °C for 3 h. Characterization results indicated that the activity of calcined Mg-Al hydrotalcites depended mainly on the surface area, pore diameter, and crystallinity.