PNNL, in cooperation with the USDOE and CRADA partners, National Corn Growers Association and Archer Daniels Midland, has developed a new class of catalysts based on Nickel and Rhenium with very effective performance for highly selective, high conversion hydrogenolysis of five–carbon sugar alcohols to useful glycols. The Ni-Re catalyst appears to exhibit preferential hydrogenolysis of the carbon-carbon bonds of secondary carbons over primary carbons of the 5-carbon sugar alcohols tested. In addition, the catalyst has demonstrated significant and unique primary C-O bond hydrogenolysis activity in its ability to convert glycerol into 1,2- propylene glycol, which is then stable in the presence of this class of catalysts. The rhenium containing catalysts are found to have higher activity and better selectivity to desired glycols than previously reported catalysts. A continuous flow reactor lifetime test of over 1500 hours also demonstrated the requisite high stability for an industrially attractive process.
Revised: May 18, 2011 |
Published: January 1, 2005
Citation
Zacher A.H., J.G. Frye, T.A. Werpy, and D.J. Miller. 2005.Catalytic Hydrogenolysis of 5-Carbon Sugar Alcohols. In Catalysis of Organic Reactions; 20th Conference on Catalysis of Organic Reactions 2004 : Hilton Head Island, S.C. Chemical industries, edited by JR Sowa, Jr., 165-173. Boca Raton, Florida:CRC Press.PNNL-SA-39754.