LAUSR

Abstract Glycerol was converted to pyridine bases through a continuous two-step process in a series-connected two-stage fixed-fed reactor. Firstly, dehydration of glycerol to acrolein was achieved in high selectivity over a catalyst FeP-P in the first reactor. The dehydration products were directly introduced into the second reactor charged with a bimetallic catalyst Cu4.6Pr0.3/HZSM-5, contacting ammonia over the catalyst to afford pyridine bases in high yield. Under optimized reaction conditions, the conversion of glycerol was 100%, and the total yield of pyridine base reached up to 60.2%. The catalyst characterization results revealed that the doping of copper and praseodymium did not destroy the frame work of HZSM-5, but increased the Lewis acidity of the catalyst which enhanced the activity and selectivity of the catalyst in the conversion of acrolein to pyridine bases. The doping of minute amount of praseodymium led to the high dispersion of the CuO nanoparticles, thus enhanced the dehydrogenation activity of CuO species, and finally improved the performance of the bimetallic catalyst. In addition, the interaction of copper and praseodymium in the bimetallic catalyst might have positive effect on the performance of the catalyst in the conversion of acrolein to pyridine bases.