Transesterification of Glycerol with Dimethyl Carbonate Over Sodium Titanates

The applicability of sodium containg titanate nanotubes as catalyst powder for the glycerol carbonate (GLC) formation using glycerol (GL) as a main reactant and as a solvent dimethyl carbonate (DMC) was examined. The sodium titania nanotubes were prepared using hydrothermal method, followed by low temperature calcination. The performance of catalyst depended on the basicity of the material, to find out this CO 2 -TPD (temperature-programmed desorption) carried out. Sodium titanate nanotubes (NaTNT) showed good activity with 92.6% conversion and also very good selectivity (100%) for GLC compared to the pure TiO 2 . Further more studie on reaction parameters carried out for optimization (reaction temperature (T), time (t), DMC/GL molar ratio, and catalyst amount). The present catalyst showed good recyclability until 5 cycles, with a small amount of GL conversion decreased.