Effect of Nb doping in WO3/ZrO2 catalysts on gas phase dehydration of glycerol to form acrolein

Gas-phase dehydration of glycerol to produce acrolein was investigated over tungstated zirconia catalysts with and without niobium doping, in order to correlate the catalytic activity and life-stability with the acid/base properties of the catalysts. The results of NH3- and CO2-TPD experiments showed that the tungstated zirconia catalysts contained both acidic and basic sites, and the amounts decreased with the increase in calcination temperature. The most suitable calcination temperature for 20% WO3/ZrO2 as the catalyst in the gas phase dehydration of glycerol to form acrolein was 450 degrees C in consideration of achieving high acrolein yield and long lifetime of the catalyst. Not only the amount of acid but also the amount of base affected the acrolein yield. Doping a small amount of niobium further increased the life-stability of the catalysts, attributed to the decrease in the number of basic sites. The influence of Nb is mostly in neutralization of surface acidity electronically instead of geometric blocking of the basic sites. Moreover, fine tuning the ratio of acid/base sites was found to be important in achieving good catalytic performance in the gas-phase dehydration of glycerol to generate acrolein. The ratio of acid/base sites in the range of 4-5.4 gave the highest glycerol conversion, and acrolein yield and lowest catalyst decay rate. The spent catalysts were easily regenerated by calcination at 450 degrees C, and the catalytic activities were retained well even after the second time of reuse.