Vapor phase esterification of levulinic acid over ZrO2/SBA-15 catalyst

•Impregnation method was adopted to prepare ZrO2/SBA-15 catalysts.•Levulinic acid esterification in vapor phase for the first time was tested.•Catalyst with 7 wt% ZrO2 loading exhibited good activity to yield methyl levulinate.•Steady activity was found over 7 wt% ZrO2 catalyst during 10 h time on stream study.•Increase in the alcohol chain length favors the formation of γ-valerolactone.

ZrO2/SBA-15 catalysts with different ZrO2 loadings prepared by impregnation method were tested for the esterification of levulinic acid in a fixed-bed reactor in vapor phase conditions at atmospheric pressure for the first time and found that the catalyst with 7 weight percent ZrO2 exhibited 100% conversion of levulinic acid and 96% selectivity to methyl levulinate due to the presence of more number of moderate acidic sites. It is interesting to observe the formation of γ-valerolactone as the alcohol chain length increases at the expense of alkyl levulinate, through MPV reduction mechanism.

Graphical abstract7 weight % ZrO2/SBA-15 catalyst exhibits good activity in the esterification of levulinic acid under vapor phase conditions.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide