A Comparative Review of Petroleum‐Based and Bio‐Based Acrolein Production

Abstract

Lu Liu recently completed her Ph.D. at the University of Tennessee with a dissertation entitled "Roles of non-thermal plasma in gas-phase glycerol dehydration catalyzed by supported silicotungstic acid". She believes in the importance of building a supportive chemical platform to make the renewable energy industry economically more viable, and seeks to apply her chemical engineering background to this effort. Her research interests lie in developing efficient catalytic routes for value-added production from renewable resources and transitioning catalytic processes from the laboratory to the industrial scale. X. Philip Ye received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, USA, in 2004. Prior to that, he worked as an engineer in a chemical company in China for six years. Since 2004, he has been an assistant professor and then associate professor the University of Tennessee. Working with an interdisciplinary team with a background in Biosystems/Agricultural Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry, and Biotechnology, his current research focuses on the interface between biological systems and engineering processes to fill the void of engineering science in the transformation of biorenewables into fuels, chemicals, and materials, and to protect our environment. Joseph J. Bozell joined the Tennessee Center for Renewable Carbon in 2006. Prof. Bozell received his B.Sc. in chemistry from South Dakota State University, and a Ph.D. in organic synthesis and organometallic chemistry from Colorado State University. Before joining the University of Tennessee, he did postdoctoral work at the DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Prof. Bozell's primary interests are in using the tools of organic synthesis for converting renewable materials into chemical products.

Catalytic Glycerol Hydrodeoxygenation under Inert Atmosphere: Ethanol as a Hydrogen Donor

“…Glycerol is now largely available in the market mainly due to the rapid increase in bio-diesel production. For this reason, a great effort has been directed towards the conversion of glycerol to valuable products, such as 1,2-and 1,3-propanediols [4][5][6][7][8][9][10], acrolein [11,12], hydrogen [13] and fuel additives [14].…”

Gas-phase dehydration of glycerol over thermally-stable SAPO-40 catalyst

“…Although glycerol is used in several industries (cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, food additives, coatings), biodiesel production growth will lead to an accumulation of this compound in the near future. The transformation of glycerol into more valuable and versatile feedstocks is therefore of paramount importance to improve the efficiency and economics of the biodiesel manufacture [1][2][3] .…”

“…An attractive route for the conversion of glycerol is the acid-catalyzed dehydration to acrolein, which is an important intermediate in the production of acrylic acid, polyesters, superabsorber polymers and detergents [1][2][3][4][5] . Currently acrolein is produced by the oxidation of propylene over bismuth molybdate-based catalysts 4 ; however its production from glycerol may become economically appealing in the near future.…”

Composition, Structural Evolution and the Related Property Variations in Preparation of Mixed Cesium/Ammonium Acidic Salts of Heteropolyacids

“…Heteropoly compounds (HPCs) have attracted great attention as effective catalysts for redox and acid-catalyzed reactions, especially in the production processes of petroleum and coal downstream products, such as the oxidative dehydrogenation of alkanes [1,2], the oxidation of propylene/propane to acrolein/acrylic acid [3,4], the oxidation of iso-butane/methacrolein (MAL) to methacrylic acid (MAA) [5,6], and an increasing number of newly emerging fields [7][8][9][10].…”