Catalytic transesterification of glycerol with dimethyl carbonate to glycerol carbonate with Co₃O₄ nanoparticle incorporated MCM-41 derived from rice husk

A rice husk-derived MCM-41 catalyst has been synthesized, and active metal Co₃O₄ nanoparticles were incorporated. The synthesized MCM-41 derived from rice husk exhibited highly ordered p6mm hexagonal symmetry. The catalytic activity of the prepared catalyst was investigated for glycerol carbonate (GLc) synthesis through transesterification of glycerol (GLy) with dimethyl carbonate (DMC). Experimentally, it was found that 5 wt.% cobalt incorporated MCM-41 activated at 400°C showed a higher yield of GLc, 60.2%, due to its optimum basicity. Approximately, 98.7 ± 1.2% GLy conversion and 94.1 ± 0.7% GLc yield was achieved with the batch reactor at adjusted conditions: a molar ratio of DMC-to-glycerol = 3, catalyst dosage = 6 wt.% (based on glycerol mass), reaction temperature = 90°C, and reaction time = 2 h. The transesterification reaction kinetics were also studied using the ODE 15s tool in MATLAB. The catalyst's activation energy was calculated as 58.2 ± 2.4 kJ/mol.