Transesterification of glycerol with dimethyl carbonate over calcined Ca-Al hydrocalumite

A series of Ca-Al hydrocalumite with different Ca/AI ratios (1-6) were synthesized and used in the transesterification of glycerol with dimethyl carbonate (DMC) to glycerol carbonate (GC) under mild conditions. The calcined Ca-Al hydrocalumites were active with a selectivity toward GC that reached 97% at 93% conversion of glycerol over the sample with Ca/Al = 2 at 70 degrees C, 3 h, and DMC/glycerol = 3. The glycerol conversion depended mainly on the proportion of strong basic sites in the calcined Ca-Al catalysts. The Ca12Al14O33 phase in the calcined catalysts was stable, but CaO was lost in recycle experiments and thus brought deactivation. (C) 2015, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.