459
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
K. K. Pant et al. (eds.), Catalysis for Clean Energy and Environmental
Sustainability, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65017-9_15
Catalytic Conversion of Biomass-Derived
Glycerol to Value-Added Chemicals
Kushanava Bhaduri , Anindya Ghosh, and Biswajit Chowdhury
Abstract In the scenario of fossil fuel depletion, the promotion of renewable
energy like biodiesel has intensified research. Due to this, another significant challenge has emerged which is to deal with the surplus by-product glycerol. In order to
address the issue, production of value-added chemicals from glycerol is an efficient
alternative pathway. Thus the renewability, bioavailability and exclusive structure of
glycerol make it an appropriately attractive starting material for producing a broad
number of crucial chemicals. Here in this chapter, we have reviewed the catalytic
conversion of glycerol in terms of oxidation, dehydration, carbonylation, esterification and acetalization and kept our focus on products like acrylic acid, acrolein,
glycerol carbonate, glycerol acetins and solketal, respectively. Recent studies
regarding catalysts, reaction parameters and plausible pathways are discussed
in detail.
Keywords Glycerol · Acrylic acid · Glycerol oxidation · Glycerol dehydration ·
Glycerol carbonylation
1 Introduction
1.1 Biomass and Biomass Conversion
In the twenty-first century, the increasing energy demand, depleting fossil fuels and
abnormal change of climate are the huge obstacle faced by humankind. The whole
world mainly depends on one single source, that is, non-renewable fossil carbon,
which fulfilled the global need of chemicals, fuels and daily commodities for maintaining a living standard of seven billion people. So, it is quite obvious fate that
excessive combustion of fossil carbon and its derivatives is the major reason for the
upsurge in the atmospheric greenhouse gas levels and hence causing global
K. Bhaduri · A. Ghosh · B. Chowdhury (*)
Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad,
Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India
e-mail: biswajit72@iitism.ac.in
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
K. K. Pant et al. (eds.), Catalysis for Clean Energy and Environmental
Sustainability, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65017-9_15
Catalytic Conversion of Biomass-Derived
Glycerol to Value-Added Chemicals
Kushanava Bhaduri , Anindya Ghosh, and Biswajit Chowdhury
Abstract In the scenario of fossil fuel depletion, the promotion of renewable
energy like biodiesel has intensified research. Due to this, another significant challenge has emerged which is to deal with the surplus by-product glycerol. In order to
address the issue, production of value-added chemicals from glycerol is an efficient
alternative pathway. Thus the renewability, bioavailability and exclusive structure of
glycerol make it an appropriately attractive starting material for producing a broad
number of crucial chemicals. Here in this chapter, we have reviewed the catalytic
conversion of glycerol in terms of oxidation, dehydration, carbonylation, esterification and acetalization and kept our focus on products like acrylic acid, acrolein,
glycerol carbonate, glycerol acetins and solketal, respectively. Recent studies
regarding catalysts, reaction parameters and plausible pathways are discussed
in detail.
Keywords Glycerol · Acrylic acid · Glycerol oxidation · Glycerol dehydration ·
Glycerol carbonylation
1 Introduction
1.1 Biomass and Biomass Conversion
In the twenty-first century, the increasing energy demand, depleting fossil fuels and
abnormal change of climate are the huge obstacle faced by humankind. The whole
world mainly depends on one single source, that is, non-renewable fossil carbon,
which fulfilled the global need of chemicals, fuels and daily commodities for maintaining a living standard of seven billion people. So, it is quite obvious fate that
excessive combustion of fossil carbon and its derivatives is the major reason for the
upsurge in the atmospheric greenhouse gas levels and hence causing global
K. Bhaduri · A. Ghosh · B. Chowdhury (*)
Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad,
Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India
e-mail: biswajit72@iitism.ac.in