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A Magnetically Recoverable V2O5/SiO2/Fe3O4 Catalyst for the Sustainable Valorization of Glycerol to Solketal

Ado Ibrahim Yargaya, Vannapa Luckanawat, Kittichai Chaiseeda, Piyarat Trikittiwong, Manuela Stan

Abstract


The sustainable valorization of surplus glycerol produced from biodiesel manufacturing is a critical challenge and opportunity in environmental and green chemical engineering. In this study, a magnetically recoverable V2O5/SiO2/Fe3O4 catalyst was synthesized via thermal decomposition and applied to the ketalization of glycerol with acetone for the production of solketal, a high-value fuel additive and green solvent. Comprehensive structural and surface characterization using XRD, BET, SEM, HR-TEM, VSM, XRF, FTIR, and XPS confirmed the successful integration of all components, high surface accessibility, mesoporosity, strong magnetic response, and the coexistence of V5+/V4+ redox species. Under optimized reaction conditions, the 20 wt% V2O5/SiO2/Fe3O4 catalyst achieved a glycerol conversion of 91.34% with a solketal selectivity of 99.65% after 4 h at reflux. The catalyst exhibited excellent stability and reusability, maintaining high catalytic performance over successive cycles with only a slight decrease in activity, attributed to partial catalyst loss during recovery. This work demonstrates an effective route for the environmentally sustainable conversion of biodiesel-derived glycerol into value-added chemicals using a low-cost, easily recoverable catalyst platform with strong potential for practical implementation.

Keywords



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DOI: 10.14416/j.asep.2026.05.005

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