Co-Production of Ethanol and 1,2-Propanediol via Glycerol Hydrogenolysis Using Ni/Ce–Mg Catalysts: Effects of Catalyst Preparation and Reaction Conditions

Crude glycerol from biodiesel production is a biobased material capable of co-producing biofuels and chemicals. This study aimed to develop a line of Ni catalysts supported on cerium–magnesium (Ce–Mg) to improve the process efficiency of glycerol hydrogenolysis for ethanol and 1,2-propanediol (1,2-PDO). Results showed that catalytic activity was greatly improved by changing the preparation method from impregnation to deposition precipitation (DP), and by adjusting calcination temperatures. Prepared via DP, the catalysts of 25 wt % Ni supported on Ce–Mg (9:1 mol/mol) greatly improved the effectiveness in glycerol conversion while maintaining the selectivities to ethanol and 1,2-PDO. Calcination at 350 °C provided the catalysts better selectivities of 15.61% to ethanol and 67.93% to 1,2-PDO. Increases in reaction temperature and time improved the conversion of glycerol and the selectivity to ethanol, but reduced the selectivity to 1,2-PDO. A lower initial water content led to a higher conversion of glycerol, but lower selectivities to ethanol and 1,2-PDO. Higher hydrogen application affected the glycerol conversion rate positively, but the selectivities to ethanol and 1,2-PDO negatively. A comparison to the commercial Raney® Ni catalyst showed that the Ni/Ce–Mg catalyst developed in this study showed a better potential for the selective co-production of ethanol and 1,2-PDO from glycerol hydrogenolysis.