A review on recent developments and progress in the kinetics and deactivation of catalytic acetylation of glycerol-A byproduct of biodiesel

The increased awareness and demand for green energy sources, such as biodiesel (BD), have impelled an increase in the production of its byproduct, glycerol, which is now considered an oversupplied commodity. However, the excessive supply and physicochemical properties of glycerol render this compound as an attractive material for fine chemical synthesis, which can boost the BD market. Pathways for synthesis of fine chemicals from glycerol have been proposed by a number of researchers by using different heterogeneous or homogeneous catalysts, with the former being more environmentally benign. Glycerol acetylation pathway with acetic acid has received increased research attention because of the vast potential applications of its products. Therefore, studies were conducted to propose kinetic models for acetylation reaction and catalyst deactivation and determine parameters influencing acetylation rate. This study also provides insights into assumptions of pseudo first-order rate, PSSH, mass transfer, and diffusion limitation and discusses the future trends of catalytic acetylation of glycerol.