The best conditions for the kinetic study of the ketalization reaction of glycerol with acetone for the production of solketal using zeolite H-BEA (SAR 19) as a catalyst were found through a fractional experimental design. To simplify the heterogeneous kinetics, by means of a smaller number of kinetic parameters to encompass all the kinetic terms toward the products and reagents, a reversible kinetic model was used. From the comparison between the experimental and calculated conversions, it was possible to analyze the accuracy of the estimations, providing a good way to apply statistical treatments to improve the calculated kinetic properties. Thereby, it is possible to calculate the equilibrium constants for a range of reactions performed across different temperatures (40−80 °C) as well as the forward reaction activation energy (44.77 kJ mol −1 ) and the reverse reaction activation energy (41.40 kJ mol −1 ). Moreover, 70−76% glycerol conversion was obtained using the same catalyst for five reactions, without wash or performing any other pretreatments in the catalyst between reactions. The solketal product has been studied as a green industrial solvent additive in gasoline and biofuels.

The use of graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C3N4)‐based catalysts in the upgrading of lignocellulosic biomass significantly contributes to the greener production of biofuels, polymer precursors, and building blocks. In recent years, several catalysts based on g‐C3N4 have been developed and applied in both photocatalyzed and non‐photocatalyzed (thermal) reactions. This Review provides an overview on the upgrading of lignocellulosic biomass deploying several compositions of g‐C3N4‐based catalysts.

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Commercial solketal is known as Augeo™ SL 191 and is produced by Rhodia (a member of the Solvay Group), which stands out as a slow evaporation solvent derived from glycerin which is considered a renewable source. It has low toxicity to human health and the environment. It is a good solvent for resins and polymers, replacing solvents derived from petroleum, and can be used as an additive of (bio) fuels. This work aimed to study acidy zeolites (H-BEA, H-MOR, H-MFI, and H-FER) as new heterogeneous catalysts of solketal production, through the ketalization reaction of glycerol with acetone. The catalytic activity showed H-BEA > H-MOR = H-MFI > H-FER after 180 min, in kinetics study. The major conversion was 85% for H-BEA. It was also verified that all the catalysts can be reused four times without washing or pretreatment among reactions in batch reactor. The solketal produced in this work was characterized by comparing it with its commercial standard, obtaining very similar characteristics.

The development of more efficient and greener catalytic strategies for the upgrading of biomass to value-added chemicals is crucial to achieve a more sustainable future. In recent years, cutting-edge single-atom...