The present study is dedicated to the experimental verification of a concept for the hydrogenolysis of glycerol over in situ-generated Cu dispersed particles (Cu-DP). The Cu-DP were generated by in situ reduction of a precursor salt (Cu(OAc)2, CuSO4, CuCl2) in the presence of KOH and were active in glycerol conversion under hydrogen (T = 200-220 °C, p(H2) = 1-4 MPa), where 1,2-propylene glycol (PG) and lactic acid (LA) were detected to be the main products. The influence of the reaction conditions (temperature, hydrogen pressure, reaction time, catalyst-to-feed ratio and the KOH/Cu ratio) on the yields of the products is described. It was shown that the selectivity between the PG and LA could be tuned by changing p(H2) or by the KOH amount, i.e., higher yields of LA corresponded to lower p(H2) and higher alkalinity of the reaction media. The activity of the in situ-generated Cu-DP was found to be comparable to that of an industrial Cu-Cr2O3 catalyst. The Cu-DP catalysts were characterized by XRD, XPS, HRTEM and SEM. During the reaction, the catalyst evolved by the sintering and recrystallization of the separate Cu-DP; the crystallite sizes after 1 and 15 h reaction times amounted to 35 and 49 nm, respectively.
Keywords: dispersed copper particles; glycerol; heterogeneous catalysis; hydrogenolysis; propylene glycol.