Kinetic Study of Liquid-Phase Glycerol Hydrodeoxygenation into 1,2-Propanediol over CuPd/TiO(2)-Na

[Image: see text] Hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) kinetics of glycerol into 1,2-propanediol (1,2-PDO) in the liquid phase is studied on Cu-Pd/TiO(2) catalysts. At a stirring speed higher than 480 rpm and an average diameter of the catalyst particles smaller than 89.5 μm, no mass transfer resistance artifacts are observed. The increasing temperature and H(2) concentration promote the glycerol conversion and the selectivity to 1,2-PDO and disfavor the selectivity to acetol. Based on the experimental data, empirical kinetic pseudo-homogeneous expressions are proposed for glycerol disappearance, 1,2-PDO formation, and acetol formation in the catalytic system. Dependence of the disappearance rate of glycerol is closer to 1 with respect to glycerol and nonmeaningful with respect to H(2). The formation rate of 1,2-PDO is not highly dependent on the initial concentration of glycerol or H(2), and the formation rate of acetol is directly dependent on glycerol and inversely dependent on H(2), since it accelerates acetol conversion to 1,2-PDO. The activation energies for glycerol disappearance (77.8 kJ/mol), 1,2-PDO formation (51.2 kJ/mol), and acetol formation (84.6 kJ/mol) evidenced the selective formation of 1,2-PDO in this catalytic system.