Abstract:
This research aims to study the characteristics, catalytic properties and stability of tungsten oxide (13.5 wt%) supported on montmorillonite (W/MMT) catalysts prepared by using three different calcination temperatures including 375 (W/MMT375), 475 (W/MMT475) and 575 (W/MMT 575) °C. All catalysts were examined in esterification of ethanol and lactic acid at 80 °C. Characterization studies showed that the W/MMT475 catalyst exhibited the highest acidity, followed by W/MMT375 and W/MMT575, respectively. However, from the surface area result, W/MMT375 exhibited the highest surface area, followed by W/MMT475 and W/MMT575, respectively. When all catalysts were tested in esterification of ethanol and lactic acid, it revealed that the W/MMT375 catalyst was found to have the highest yield of ethyl lactate around 43.2 %. Then, the suitable catalyst (W/MMT375) was further improved by adding two different promoters such as zirconium (W-Zr/MMT375) and platinum (W-Pt/MMT375). Based on NH3 temperature-programmed desorption, it indicated that the W-Pt/MMT375 catalyst had the highest acidity. When two catalysts were tested in esterification of ethanol and lactic acid, the result showed that the W-Pt/MMT 375 catalyst exhibited higher yield of ethyl lactate (ca.48 %) than W-Zr/MMT 375. Finally, the catalytic stability of the catalysts including W/MMT 375 and W-Pt/MMT 375 was performed around 3 cycles in esterification of ethanol and lactic acid. It was found that the yield of ethyl lactate for each reuse was decreased. The characteristics of the spent W/MMT 375 and W-Pt/MMT 375 catalysts after each cycle up on the catalyst external structure, which is perhaps related to textural properties of catalyst did not affect by the reaction test within 3 cycles of reuse. However, the decrease of moderate to strong acid site related with the catalytic activity was significant.
