Esterification of glycerol by lauric acid over aluminium and zirconium containing mesoporous molecular sieves in supercritical carbon dioxide medium

Aluminium and zirconium containing mesoporous MMS-H materials were synthesized and characterized using XRD and N2 adsorption/desorption analysis. The mesoporous materials were applied for the esterification of glycerol (GL) with lauric acid (LA) in supercritical CO2 (SCC) medium. The catalyst shows high conversion up to 93% with the formation of equal amount of lauric acid monoglyceride (Monolaurin; ML) and diglyceride (Dilaurin; DL). The catalytic activity in SCC medium was higher than those in mesitylene and without solvent under N2 atmosphere. The coke formation was less in SCC medium compared to those in the other reaction medium.