Effect of Support Materials on Catalytic Activity of Nano Ruthenium Catalyst in Hydrogenolysis of Glycerol

A series of heterogenous catalysts based on supported ruthenium were prepared from RuCl₃ precursor by impregnation method. The effect of support materials (bentonite, TiO₂, Al₂O₃ and SiO₂) on catalytic activity of Ru catalyst for hydrogenolysis of glycerol were investigated under mild reaction condition of 150 degree Celsius and 20 bar initial hydrogen pressure for 7 hours reaction time and glycerol concentration was 20 % (wt). It was found that the type of support material have significant effects on the activity and selectivity of glycerol hydrogenolysis. The order of Ru catalyst activity was Ru/ bentonite > Ru /Al₂O₃ ≅ Ru/ TiO₂ > Ru/ SiO₂. This study showed that bentonite supported Ru catalyst was the most active with glycerol conversion reaching 62.5 % compared to other supports. All the tested catalyst exhibited high selectivity to 1,2-propanediol with more than 80 %. Characterization of the catalysts was carried out using BET, XPS, FESEM-EDX and TEM to obtain the physicochemical properties of the catalysts. (author)