Synthesis of glycerol carbonate from glycerol and dimethyl carbonate catalyzed by K2CO3/MgO

A series of M/MgO (M = CaO, KNO3, KOH, K2CO3) catalysts were prepared by a dry impregnation method and used for synthesis of glycerol carbonate from glycerol and dimethyl carbonate. It was found that K2CO3/MgO was the most efficient catalyst, with a glycerol carbonate yield of approximately 99% under the conditions: DMC/glycerol molar ratio 2.5:1, catalyst/raw material weight ratio 1%, reaction time 2 h, and reaction temperature 80 °C. FTIR, BET, TEM, and XRD were used for characterization of the catalyst and showed that the active sites seemed to be K2O formed on the K2CO3/MgO catalyst. Finally, a recycling experiment showed that the catalyst was relatively stable and could be reused up to four times, at least, by regeneration.