A Rapid and Green Method for the Preparation of Solketal Carbonate from Glycerol
Glycerol is a biogenic waste that is generated in both the biodiesel and oleo-chemical industries. The value addition of surplus glycerol is of utmost importance for making these industries economically profitable. In line with this, glycerol is converted into glycerol carbonate, a potential candida...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Reactions |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2624-781X/6/1/15 |
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| Summary: | Glycerol is a biogenic waste that is generated in both the biodiesel and oleo-chemical industries. The value addition of surplus glycerol is of utmost importance for making these industries economically profitable. In line with this, glycerol is converted into glycerol carbonate, a potential candidate for the industrial production of polymers and biobased non-isocyanate polyurethanes. In addition, glycerol can also be converted into solketal, which is the protected form of glycerol with a primary hydroxyl functional group. In this contribution, we developed a microwave-assisted solvent and catalyst-free method for converting solketal into solketal carbonate. Under conventional heating conditions, the reaction of solketal with dimethyl carbonate resulted in 70% solketal carbonate in 48 h. However, under microwave heating, 90% solketal carbonate was obtained in just 30 min. From the perspective of sustainability and green chemistry, biomass-derived heterogeneous catalysts are gaining importance. Therefore, in this project, several green catalysts, such as molecular sieves (MS, 4Å), Hβ-Zeolite, Montmorillonite K-10 clay, activated carbon from groundnut shell (<i>Arachis hypogaea</i>), biochar prepared from the pyrolysis of sawdust, and silica gel, were successfully used for the carbonyl transfer reaction. The obtained solketal carbonate was thoroughly characterized by <sup>1</sup>H NMR, <sup>13</sup>C NMR, IR, and MS. The method presented here is facile, clean, and environmentally benign, as it eliminates the use of complicated procedures, toxic solvents, and toxic catalysts. |
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| ISSN: | 2624-781X |