Hydrogenolysis
of glycerol to propanols is highly promising for
the sustainable development of biomass refining. In this work, modified
amorphous zirconium phosphate (ZrP)-supported Pt catalysts were developed
and characterized thoroughly by X-ray diffraction, temperature-programmed
desorption of ammonia, Fourier transform infrared spectra of adsorbed
pyridine, temperature-programmed reduction, high-resolution transmission
electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller
surface area. The as-obtained catalysts were employed for selective
glycerol hydrogenolysis to 1-propanol (1-PO) in a fixed-bed reactor.
Owing to the incorporation of WO
x
, both
the total acidity and the dispersion of Pt nanoparticles were enhanced
significantly. The Pt/7WO
x
-ZrP catalyst
could afford 81% yield of 1-PO at full conversion of glycerol in a
long-term catalytic stability test (at least 70 h reaction time) and
was regenerated by calcination in air. The results of the catalytic
activity test and catalyst characterization indicated that the acid
sites of the catalysts promoted the selective dehydration of glycerol
into acrolein, whereas the Pt sites facilitated H2 dissociation
and a sequential hydrogenation of acrolein into 1-PO.