Catalytic performance of Ni/La2O3 materials in glycerol valorization for acetol and syngas production

• Ni/La2O3 generated from LaNiO3 perovskite is a predominantly basic catalyst.
• The glycerol dehydration is determined by the acid–base properties of the catalyst.
• A high number of basic sites on Ni/La2O3 increase the formation of acetol.
• At high reaction temperatures, Ni/La2O3 favors the formation of syngas from glycerol.

The current global tendency is to increase the use of biofuels. This tendency has generated an oversupply of glycerol, which is the primary byproduct that is formed during the production of biodiesel. An alternative use for glycerol is based on chemical transformation to high-added-value derivatives at the industrial and/or energy level. During the decomposition of gaseous glycerol, polymers, alcohols and other oxygenated compounds can be generated with a selectivity that depends on the characteristics of the catalyst used. Accordingly, in this work, the acid and base characteristics of the catalyst support and the nickel in the Ni/La2O3 were investigated, as well as their influence on selectivity toward acetol at 400 °C and syngas at 700 °C. Generally, it was determined that the use of a basic catalyst support favors glycerol dehydration with respect to the formation of acetol. Moreover, it was found that the nickel particles present in the catalyst increased yield gas fraction at high reaction temperatures with a high selectivity to the syngas.

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