Selective Hydrogen Production from Glycerol over Ruthenium Catalyst

Glycerol - one of the prominent by-products of biodiesel is also an important source of hydrogen gas. Herein, the efficient and selective production of hydrogen gas from glycerol in water at 90-120 C over a ruthenium nanoparticle (similar to 2.7 nm) catalyst is demonstrated. Notably, high yield of hydrogen gas (n(H-2)/n(glycerol); 0.96-1.61) was achieved from the glycerol-water solution, where the reaction temperature and base concentration played crucial role in achieving high yield of H-2. Advantageously, under the studied reaction conditions, the ruthenium catalyst also exhibited appreciably high long-term stability for over 36 h while generating ca. 70 L H-2 per gram of Ru with H-2 yield of 350 L per L of glycerol. Moreover, high yield for lactic acid is also achieved during the production of hydrogen gas from glycerol.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates the efficient and selective production of hydrogen gas from glycerol using a ruthenium catalyst in water. High yields of hydrogen gas and lactic acid can be achieved under appropriate reaction conditions.