Solketal formation from glycerol and acetone over hierarchical zeolites of different structure as catalysts

Glycerol acetalization reaction with acetone was performed at 343 K and using a 1:1 molar ratio of glycerol to acetone in the feed over hierarchical zeolites comprising pores of different diameters (MFI, BEA, and MOR). The best catalytic performance for glycerol acetalization was exhibited by hierarchical (micro-mesoporous) MFI zeolites. Glycerol conversion over MFI zeolites exceeded 80%, with almost 100% selectivity to the desired product (4-hydroxymethyl-2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolane known as solketal). A significant increase in glycerol conversion and also selectivity to solketal in the studied reaction resulted from the easier accessibility of the active sites to reagents due to the formation of mesopores by means of desilication of the microporous zeolites. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.