Synthesis of Glycerol Carbonate by Transesterification of Glycerol with Urea Over Zn/Al Mixed Oxide

Reactions of glycerol carbonate using glycerol and urea have been carried out previously using ZnSO4 and ZnO catalysts, and high yields have been reported using ZnSO4 as catalyst. However, this salt is soluble in glycerol, and recycling of catalyst is difficult after the reaction. In this study, we prepared a mixed metal oxide catalyst using Zn and Al, and this catalyst consisted of a mixture of ZnO and ZnAl2O4. We confirmed the conversion of glycerol and the yield of glycerol carbonate of the amount of Al. As a result, we obtained a yield of 82.3% and a conversion of 82.7%. In addition we obtained high yield in recycling of catalyst. The yield of the glycerol carbonate increases with an increase of acid and base site of catalysts and the highest catalytic activity was obtained when acid/base ratio was approx. 1. From this result, we may conclude that the acid and base site density and ratio of catalysts were very important parameters in the synthesis of glycerol carbonate from urea and glycerol.