Biomass to chemicals: Catalytic conversion of glycerol/water mixtures into acrolein, reaction network

Acrolein was obtained by reacting gas-phase glycerol/water mixtures with zeolite catalysts. Glycerol was converted through a series of reactions involving dehydration, cracking, and hydrogen transfer and catalyzed by the acid sites of the zeolite. Acrolein was the major product; short olefins, aromatics, acetaldehyde, hydroxyacetone, acids, and acetone also were formed through a complex reaction network.