Kinetic Modeling of Solketal Synthesis from Glycerol and Acetone Catalyzed by an Iron(III) Complex

Abstract

In the last few years, the depletion of the fossil sources and their negative effect on the environment has led to find new alternatives; among these, biodiesel is considered one of the most promising for this purpose. Biodiesel can be produced from the transesterification of vegetable oils or animal fats, obtaining glycerol as a by-product. Glycerol can be used in different processes and one of the most interesting is the condensation with acetone to produce solketal. Among its applications, plasticizers, solvents, and pharmaceutical formulations are the most common. In this work, the attention was focused on the reaction between glycerol and acetone to give solketal promoted by an iron(III) complex. The reaction mechanism was hypothesized, and the kinetics was studied in a batch reactor. Finally, the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters were determined with a reliable model investigating the phenomena that occurred in the reaction network.

Sustainable Ketalization of Glycerol with Ethyl Levulinate Catalyzed by the Iron(III)-Based Metal-Organic Framework MIL-88A

“…Among them, iron stands out for its cost, high availability, and low toxicity. Some of its compounds and simple salts are also very active in ketalization reactions [ 29 , 30 , 31 ], and many ketals were prepared using iron(III)-based homogeneous catalysts, including a methyl levulinate ketal.…”

Parts-Per-Million (Salen)Fe(III) Homogeneous Catalysts for the Production of Biodiesel from Waste Cooking Oils

“…In this context, the production of biofuels occupies a relevant sector of production [2,3], its manufacture having reached 165 billion litres in 2019 [4]. The synthesis of biodiesel involves transesterification of vegetable oils with light alcohols, to obtain a mixture of fatty acid alkyl esters (biodiesel) and glycerol useful for further uses [5][6][7] (Scheme 1)…”

Synthesis of Solketal from glycerol catalyzed by spherical γ-Al 2 O 3 supported FeCl 3

“…Considering that the reactant molecules are generally transported to the active sites of the catalyst through the mesoporous channels and the diameter of the acetalization product is 0.43-0.51 nm [23], spherical porous γ-Al 2 O 3 with large speci c surface area and developed mesopores may be an rational choice for the catalyst support. Furthermore, the acetalization reaction of Solketal is an equilibrium reaction with a low equilibrium constant, and the removal of byproduct H 2 O can effectively improve the reaction degree [27]. Generally, desiccants (e.g., sodium sulfate, potassium carbonate or phosphorus pentoxide, etc.)…”