Transesterification of Glycerol to Glycerol Carbonate Using KF/Al2O3 Catalyst: The Role of Support and Basicity

Glycerol carbonate was synthesized by transesterification of glycerol with dimethyl carbonate using KF supported catalyst. KF was impregnated on various oxides and non-oxide supports like Al2O3, SiO2, ZnO, ZrO2, H-beta, and carbon to study the influence of the support on the catalytic performance. The preparation procedure of supported KF catalysts was modified to remove weakly adsorbed KF from the catalyst surface. The generation of basic sites by KF depends upon the extent of KF interaction with the support. KF/Al2O3 catalyst with optimized amount of 3.8 mmol KF, gave the highest activity with 95.8 % glycerol conversion and almost 100 % selectivity for glycerol carbonate. It was truly heterogeneous without any leaching of active sites and also showed good reusability. The catalyst exhibited better performance when compared to conventional solid base catalysts such as MgO, CaO and hydrotalcite.