GLYCEROL OXIDATION AT LOW TEMPERATURE CATALYSED BY SILVER IONS
Glycerol oxidation. Low temperatures. Silver Ions. Conversion rate of glicerol. Selectivity
Glycerol is a highly functional compound that has three hydroxyl groups in its structure, which is why in its oxidation process many high value-added products can be formed. The main objective of this work was to perform the catalytic oxidation of glycerol at low temperatures through homogeneous catalysis. The process performed in aqueous and basic solution had as oxidizing agent and catalysts the silver ions. It was studied how the variation of the initial concentrations of the reactants, the pH and the temperature influence in the conversion rate of the glycerol in the products formed and in the selectivity to those products. These results were analyzed by means of Gas Chromatography, the identification of the products of catalytic oxidation of the glycerol was made by High Performance Liquid Chromatography, and by means of Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry, the consumption percentage of silver ions to metal silver was analyzed. For this analysis, the results indicate that a good part of the samples obtained high consumption percentage. Some results of Gas Chromatography point to an inversely proportional relation between the conversion rate of glycerol in its oxidation products and the selectivity to these products. It was observed that in three samples, which had the initial low glycerol concentration, the conversion rate was 100%, thus confirming that, in high quantity, glycerol inhibits its own oxidation process. The identification of the products showed mesoxalic acid as the major product of this study.