Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2012, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (8): 1340-1346.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(11)60411-7

• Research papers • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Oxidation of Biodiesel Glycerol over Pt Supported on Different Sized Carbon Supports in Base-Free Solution

ZHANG Mengyuan1, LIANG Dan1, NIE Renfeng1, LU Xiuyang2, CHEN Ping1, HOU Zhaoyin1,*   

  1. 1Institute of Catalysis, Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310028, Zhejiang, China; 2Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, Zhejiang, China
  • Received:2012-03-10 Revised:2012-05-20 Online:2012-08-01 Published:2012-08-01

Abstract: Recent progress in the selective oxidation of biodiesel glycerol in aqueous solution by Au, Pt and alloy catalysts was reviewed. A series of Pt catalysts on different sized carbon supports were prepared and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, N2 adsorption, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray powder diffraction. The average particle size of the carbon supports was decreased from 253.2 to 9.3 μm by ball milling, but their surface area and pore volume were only slightly changed. Pt was highly dispersed on these different sized carbon supports with an average particle size between 2.8–5.0 nm. Glycerol oxidation was catalyzed by these highly dispersed Pt catalysts in a base-free aqueous solution. The activity of the Pt catalysts increased with decreasing particle size of the carbon support, which was attributed to the higher accessibility of reactants to the Pt nanoparticles. The best yield of glyceric acid reached 46.7% and the catalyst was stable during six recycles.

Key words: glycerol oxidation, base-free solution, support size, carbon support, platinum