Electrooxidation of glycerol in alkaline media on PT catalysts modified by GE

• Grant number: 19/12260-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): August 01, 2019
• Effective date (End): September 30, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Pablo Sebastián Fernández
• Grantee: Victor Secco Lemos
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Biodiesel is a renewable fuel which demand grows annually, mainly in Brazil, and its production generates glycerol as a co-product at a rate of 10% by weight. Although this compound has several industrial applications, the growing demand for biodiesel has caused an increase in the supply of glycerol, which goes beyond industrial demand, resulting in the fall in its price. This fact stimulates the search for alternative routes of valorization, one of them being the electrochemical route, which aims to combine the generation of energy, either by the production of hydrogen of high purity or electricity, with the production of compounds with high added value, from its electrooxidation. In this context, the objective of this project is to investigate the effect of the modification of Pt with Ge adatoms for the electro-oxidation of glycerol in alkaline medium. The activity of this catalyst will be investigated using a conventional electrochemical cell with a polycrystalline Pt electrode followed by a study of the selectivity and reaction mechanism by in situ FTIR and on line HPLC.