Metal Alloy Catalysts in Selective Conversion of Glycerol to Value-Added Chemicals

Glycerol is one of the versatile organic compounds that yields products of great commercial value with various industrial applications. Common reactions for glycerol, amongst others, are oxidation, hydrogenolysis, dehydrogenation, esterification, etherification and condensation. In the past, monometallic catalysts have been applied catalytic conversion of glycerol. Due to multiple challenges experienced, such as low activity, selectivity and stability, the use of metal alloy catalysts in glycerol conversions is becoming the centre of interest. This chapter is focused on the oxidation, hydrogenolysis, dehydrogenation and esterification of glycerol using metal-alloy catalysts under different reaction conditions. The properties of the catalysts, the synergistic effects of the metal alloys and the effects of the reaction conditions in different catalytic systems on the reaction activity and selectivity of the catalysts are extensively discussed in this chapter.