Development of catalyst complexes for upgrading biomass into ester-based biolubricants for automotive applications: a review
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2018
Abstract
Biomass-derived oils are recognised as the most promising renewable resources for the production of ester-based biolubricants due to their biodegradable, non-toxic and metal adhering properties. Homogeneous acid catalysts have been conventionally used in catalytic esterification and transesterification for the synthesis of ester-based biolubricants. Although homogeneous acid catalysts encounter difficulty during phase separation, they exhibit superior selectivity and good stereochemistry and regiochemistry control in the reaction. Consequently, transition metal complex catalysts (also known as homogeneous organometallic catalysts) are proposed for biolubricant synthesis in order to achieve a higher selectivity and conversion. Herein, the potential of both homogeneous transition metal complexes and heterogeneous supported metal complexes towards the synthesis of biolubricants, particularly, in esterification and transesterification, as well as the upgrading process, including hydrogenation and in situ hydrogenation-esterification, is critically reviewed.
Keywords
Automotive applications, Catalytic esterification, Homogeneous acids, Homogeneous transition, In-situ hydrogenation, Organometallic catalysts, Renewable resource, Supported metals
Divisions
fac_eng,nanotechnology
Funders
Universiti Malaya (Grand Challenge (Innovative Technology (ITRC) (GC001B-14AET)), RU Geran (ST014-2017) and Postgraduate Research Grant (PPP, Project number: PG250-2016A)
Publication Title
RSC Advances
Volume
8
Issue
10
Publisher
Royal Society of Chemistry