Promoting effect of rhenium on catalytic performance of Ru catalysts in hydrogenolysis of glycerol to propanediol

Ru/Al2O3, Ru/C and Ru/ZrO2 catalysts were applied to the hydrogenolysis of glycerol to propanediol, and the effect of Re as an additive on the catalytic performance of Ru catalysts was examined. The catalyst systems were characterized by N-2 adsorption/desorption, XRD, TEM-EDX and XPS. The hydrogenolysis of glycerol was carried out under the conditions of 120-180 degrees C, 4-10 MPa hydrogen pressure and 4-8 h, and the conversion of glycerol varied from 18.7% to 29.7% over Ru/Al2O3, Ru/C and Ru/ZrO2 catalysts. The reaction results indicate that Re possesses high promoting effect on the catalytic performance of Ru catalysts in glycerol hydrogenolysis. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.