Glycerol Hydrogenolysis To 1,3-Propanediol Over Bimetallic Ir-Re Alloy Catalyst

Transformation of biomass and biomass-derivatives to value-added chemicals provides sustainable alternatives to the processes based on the fossil resources, which is of great importance for the sustainable chemical industry. Glycerol has been proposed as one of typical biomass-derived platform feedstocks, available in the biodiesel process. Tremendous efforts have been made to convert glycerol to valuable chemicals, among which the selective hydrogenolysis of glycerol to 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD) is an effective way for glycerol valorization.In this thesis, parametric study of glycerol hydrogenolysis, the support effect of Ir-Re bimetallic catalyst and the deactivation behavior of Ir-Re alloy have been extensively investigated. The results and conclusions are as follows:1. The effect of reaction conditions on the catalytic performance of Ir-Re catalyst supported on industrial silica (G-6). Optimal reaction parameters for catalyst evaluation was obtained as:using Amberlyst-15 or HZSM-5 as an additive,20wt% glycerol aqueous solution, reaction temperature 120℃, hydrogen pressure 8MPa, reaction time 12h.2. Three silica materails were employed as catalyst supports for Ir-Re bimetallic catalyst prepared by direct reduction method in glycerol hydrogenolysis. The results showed that the the difference in surface chemistry of silica materials resulted in different metal-support interaction, Ir-Re alloy of different extent and different acidity on surface. Hence the catalytic performances in glycerol hydrogenolysis vary among three silica supported Ir-Re alloy.3. The deactivation behaviors of Ir-Re/G-6 alloy catalyst in glycerol hydrogenolysis was investigated. It was indicated that segregation of Ir-Re alloy occurred during the reaction and the surface of catalyst tended to become Re-rich. The addition of solid acids can supply the system with H+ and inhibit the transformation of active centre Re-OH to inactive Re-O-, therefore facilitating the reuse of Ir-Re/G-6 catalyst.