Etherification of different glycols with ethanol or 1-octanol catalyzed by acid zeolites

New routes for transforming biomass-derived glycols into value-added products through innovative catalytic processes are of great relevance in the chemical industry. The etherification of these glycols with alkyl alcohols is a process to produce oxygenated fuel additives, antimicrobial and antiseptic agents, and non-ionic surfactants. In this work, the etherification reaction of glycerol, 1,2-propylene glycol or ethylene glycol with ethanol or 1-octanol using USY, H-Beta and HZSM-5 zeolites as catalysts was investigated. The catalytic activity expressed as glycol conversion was correlated with the zeolite hydrophobicity index, that is, higher conversions were achieved with more hydrophobic zeolites. Considering glycol conversion and monoether distribution, HZSM-5 showed a good catalytic performance for the studied etherification reactions. The hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity of reactants and catalysts, and the framework structure of the zeolites are crucial properties for the catalytic behavior of the studied zeolites in the etherification reaction of glycols and alkyl alcohols. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.