Solid acid co-catalyst for the hydrogenolysis of glycerol to 1,3-propanediol over Ir-ReOx/SiO2

Hydrogenolysis of aqueous glycerol was conducted with Ir-ReOx/SiO2 catalyst and solid acid co-catalyst. Considering the reusability and activity, H-ZSM-5 is the most suitable solid co-catalyst. The property of Ir-ReOx/SiO2 + H-ZSM-5 system including kinetics and selectivity trends in various reaction conditions is similar to the case of Ir-ReOx/SiO2 + H2SO4. The catalyst stability, activity, and the maximum yield of 1,3-PrD of Ir-ReOx/SiO2 + H-ZSM-5 were slightly lower than Ir-ReOx/SiO2 + H2SO4. The role of added acid may be to protonate the surface of ReOx cluster to increase the number of hydroxorhenium site, which activates glycerol by the formation of glyceride species. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.