Selective oxidation of glycerol over Bi-Pt catalyst on H-mordenite

Selective oxidation of glycerol (GLY) to dihydroxyacetone (DHA) was studied over Bi-Pt/H-mordenite catalyst. The results indicated that the surface area has little effect on the performance of the supported catalysts. H-mordenite as support inhibits the cracking of GLY and thus promotes the selectivity to DHA. Protic solvents such as ethanol and water favor the formation of DNA from GLY. Over the Bi-Pt/H-mordenite catalyst of optimum composition (1% Bi and 5% Pt by weight) and under the optimum reaction conditions (353 K, reaction time of 2~4 h, air flow rate of 20 mL/min, and GLY concentration of 10%), the conversion of GLY and selectivity to DHA reach 70.6% and 61.0%, respectively.