Hydrogenolysis of glycerol to alcohols catalyzed by transition metals supported on pillared clay

The present work evaluated the effect of Pt, Pd and Ru catalysts supported on pillared clay (Al-Pilc) on the selectivity and products yielded in the hydrogenolysis of glycerol. The catalyst was prepared by aqueous suspension impregnation, with precursors Pt(NH3)4Cl2·0.68H2O, PdCl2 and RuCl3·1.37H2O, to obtain a nominal content catalyst of 2 wt%. They were characterized by specific surface area, temperature programmed reduction, X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy of adsorbed pyridine, and pyridine temperature programmed desorption. As co-catalyst, the solid studied was Amberlyst 15. The hydrogenolysis of glycerol was performed in the liquid phase, typically at 393 K and 50 bar. The results indicate that the use of bifunctional metal–acid catalysts is a way to make the hydrogenolysis more effective because it favors the dehydration and hydrogenation reactions to produce 1,2-propanediol (1,2PD) and 1-propanol (1PO). Higher yield and a suitable selectivity to 1,2-propanediol were obtained for Ru/Al-Pilc.