Effect of Reaction Conditions on Hydroxyacetone Production and Deactivation of Cu/γ-Al2O3 Catalyst

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15517/2rc1np22

Keywords:

Deactivation, glycerol, hydroxyacetone, optimization, regeneration

Abstract

La conversión de glicerol a hidroxiacetona se investigó utilizando un catalizador de Cu/γ-Al2O3. Las reacciones se realizaron en un reactor de cuarzo de lecho fijo. Los catalizadores se activaron mediante tres métodos distintos: calcinación, reducción y calcinación-reducción. La reducción fue el método que proporcionó la mayor concentración y selectividad hacia hidroxiacetona. Además, se utilizó un análisis estadístico de Diseño Compuesto Central Rotable (CCRD, por sus siglas en inglés) para optimizar los parámetros de conversión de glicerol a hidroxiacetona con el catalizador reducido. Las variables de estudio fueron temperatura de reacción, flujo de gas portador y flujo de alimentación de glicerol. El análisis, con un 95 % de confianza, mostró que solo la temperatura de reacción tuvo un efecto significativo en las tres variables de respuesta. Mediante la función de deseabilidad, las condiciones óptimas para maximizar las respuestas fueron 299.43 °C, 70.97 mL/min de flujo de gas portador y 6.32 mL/h de flujo de alimentación de glicerol. Los valores experimentales bajo estas condiciones coincidieron con las predicciones. Además, se derivó una ecuación de desactivación del catalizador que resultó de primer orden. Por otra parte, una deposición de carbono en la superficie del catalizador y una reducción del 12 % en su área superficial fueron identificadas mediante CHONS, BET y XRD como fuentes de desactivación. Finalmente, se realizó un ciclo de reacciones con y sin tratamiento de reducción entre ellas, donde se observó que el catalizador recupera su actividad.

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2026-02-19

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Vol. 36 No. 1 (2026): January–June 2026 (open issue)

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Copyright (c) 2026 María Daniela Barrantes Mena, Maureen Daniela Córdoba Pérez, Bárbara Cristina Miranda Morales (Autor/a)

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