Scientists from the Catalytic Research Laboratory of Tomsk State University have created an innovative method for producing lactic acid from glycerol, a cheap by-product of biofuel production. The university press service reported this to RT. The study results were published in the journal Applied Catalysis A: General.
As a reminder, lactic acid is an additive compound used as a preservative and antioxidant. The substance is widely used in the food, pharmaceutical, textile industries, cosmetology, production of biodegradable polymers, etc. Today, this important chemical component is mostly imported to Russia from other countries. Thus, at the time of 2020, imports accounted for 99% of the Russian market.
In industry, lactic acid is produced either enzymatically or synthetically. However, both methods have a number of disadvantages - they are quite expensive and not environmentally friendly. Researchers' interest is therefore focused on developing an environmentally friendly process for producing lactic acid from crude glycerol, a cheap by-product of biofuel production. The obstacle in this case is the complexity of the chemical process: to obtain lactic acid from glycerol, you need to carry out a whole series of chemical reactions, each of which requires different catalysts.
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The authors of the study found a solution to this problem. They have developed a universal catalyst that will allow the production of lactic acid in one step. The catalyst includes a polymer complex of zirconium metal and an organic molecule, as well as bimetallic nanoparticles of bismuth and palladium.
Experiments have shown that in the presence of the resulting catalyst, the reactions of converting glycerol into lactic acid proceed simultaneously and quickly.
“Understanding the mechanisms of ongoing processes, as well as the wide possibilities for varying the structure of metal-organic coordination polymers, made it possible to “build” suitable materials with specified catalytic properties to minimize the occurrence of side reactions,” noted Victoria Torbina, Candidate of Chemical Sciences, researcher at the Laboratory of Catalytic Research at TSU, in an interview with RT .
The catalyst can be used repeatedly to produce lactic acid. The use of this technology in the future will help replace the import of lactic acid, the researchers note. In addition, the work has important scientific significance.
“In addition to the obvious practical significance, this work has deep fundamental value due to the expansion of understanding of the structure-property relationship in the field of catalytic chemistry,” concluded Victoria Torbina.