Microwave-assisted synthesis of glycerol carbonate by the transesterification of glycerol with dimethyl carbonate using Musa acuminata peel ash catalyst

Musa acuminata peel ash (MAPA), a biowaste-derived solid base catalyst is investigated for the transesterification of glycerol with dimethyl carbonate (DMC) to glycerol carbonate (GC), a potential fuel additive, under microwave irradiation. High basicity, high surface area and mesoporous nature of the catalyst effectively promote the conversion of glycerol to GC. Moreover, the catalyst being a biowaste is abundantly available, cheap, biodegradable, renewable, sustainable and environment-friendly. Microwave irradiation shows higher conversion (99%) and greater selectivity (99.5%) as compared to conventional heating (18% conversion and 98.5% selectivity) under our optimized reaction conditions such as 1:2 molar ratio of glycerol/dimethyl carbonate, catalyst loading of 6 wt%, temperature of 75°C and time of 15 min. The synthesized GC was characterized by gas chromatography, 1H and 13C NMR, and mass spectrometry. The reusability of the catalyst was investigated up to 6 successive cycles and it shows great stability towards the transesterification of glycerol to GC.