Selective removal of 1,2‐propanediol and 1,2‐butanediol from bio‐ethylene glycol by catalytic reaction

Ethylene glycol (EG), synthesized from biomass, frequently contains refractory 1,2‐propanediol (PDO) and 1,2‐butanediol (BDO). Selective removal of PDO and BDO was realized herein by catalytic dehydration to form volatile aldehydes, ketones, and acetals. Various acidic and basic catalysts were screened under a range of conditions for the conversion of a mixture containing 73 wt % EG, 20 wt % PDO, and 7 wt % BDO. Over H‐Beta 26 zeolite, the most selective catalyst among tested, PDO and BDO conversions reached 99.1 and 99.3%, respectively, after 4 h reaction at 453 K, with separation factors over 2. The activation energies for EG, PDO, and BDO dehydration were ca. 99.3, 69.9, and 54.0 kJ/mol, respectively, accounting for the high reactivity of PDO and BDO. The dehydration largely proceeded in the micropores of H‐Beta and depended on the number of strong Brønsted acid sites, but excessively strong acid sites enhanced the polymerization of EG. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 4032–4042, 2017