Abstract
The paper presents a short review of published results about different methods of waste glycerol conversion to the various chemicals and energy carriers as well the preliminary experimental results of the photocatalytic glycerol conversion into hydrogen. The first part of the paper presents literature data pertaining to the glycerol utilization, including thermal methods (incineration, pyrolysis, gasification and reforming), catalytic oxidation, chemical and biochemical conversion and photoconversion into hydrogen, are presented. The mechanism of selected processes and reaction conditions are also discussed. The second part of the paper presents the results of the hydrogen production over irradiated aqueous glycerol solution containing TiO2-based photocatalysts (TiO2-modified W, Mn, Cr, Ni, Co, Pt, Pd, Au and Ag). The test runs were performed in the batch and semi-batch reactors equipped with Xe lamps as a light source. Much higher hydrogen productivity was observed for the titania modified by noble metals than for transition metal used for modification. The highest hydrogen productivity (24.2 mmol H2·gcat-1·h-1) was reached in the presence of Pt/TiO2, when glycerol concentration in the solution equaled to 4.5 wt.% and the photocatalysts loading in the suspension was ~ 0.042 wt.%.
© 2016 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston
