Kinetics of Glycerol Conversion to Hydrocarbon Fuels over Pd/H-ZSM-5 Catalysts

As the primary byproduct of biodiesel production, glycerol conversion to alternative fuels and chemicals is important to enhance process economics. In our recent work, bifunctional metal supported H-ZSM-5 catalysts were used to convert glycerol to aromatic hydrocarbon fuels. An optimal ~60% yield of hydrocarbon fuels was obtained over Pd/H-ZSM-5 catalyst. In the present work, based on experimental data over this catalyst, a lumped reaction network and kinetic model are developed. The rate constants, reaction orders and activation energies are obtained for each reaction step over the temperature range 300-450 ◦C. The predicted values from the kinetic models match well with experimental data for glycerol conversion up to ~90%.