Catalytic Acetalization: An Efficient Strategy for High-Value Utilization of Biodiesel-Derived Glycerol

In this study, an efficient process for high value utilization of biodiesel-derived glycerol was proposed via a simple reaction of acetalization catalyzed by novel catalysts of ester sulfate-functionalized ionic liquids (ILs). The relationship between the IL structure and its catalytic activity was investigated. The effects of reaction conditions, and the substrate adaptability, were also carefully studied. The results demonstrate that ester sulfate-functionalized IL shows excellent catalytic activity on the acetalization of glycerol with aldehyde (ketone). Under the optimized condition, 87% glycerol conversion was obtained with 99% acetal selectivity when glycerol was condensed with cyclohexanone. In particular, 29% of product consists of six-membered compound, an important fine chemical and an excellent precursor in organic chemistry, because of the significant steric-hindrance effect of IL catalyst. Furthermore, the IL catalyst shows good recyclability where insignificant activity loss was exhibited even after six runs.