Conversion of sugar, sugar alcohol, or glycerol to valuable chemicals using a promoted zirconium oxide supported catalyst

1. A process for converting a sugar or sugar alcohol having a carbon-chain backbone to a polyol and/or an alcohol, the polyol and/or alcohol having a shorter carbon-chain backbone than the sugar or sugar alcohol, the process comprising the steps of:

selecting a catalyst comprising a support comprising zirconium oxide and a promoter selected from the group consisting of oxide and acid forms of chromium, molybdenum and tungsten, phosphoric acid, sulfuric acid and organic polyacids; and at least one catalytically active metal selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, tin, ruthenium, rhenium, platinum, palladium, cobalt, iron and combinations thereof;

introducing the catalyst to the sugar or sugar alcohol under reaction conditions;

providing a source of hydrogen; and

converting at least 40 wt. % of the sugar or sugar alcohol to the polyol and/or alcohol.

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the polyol and/or alcohol comprises at least one of propylene glycol (1,2-propanediol), ethylene glycol, trimethylene glycol (1,3-propanediol), glycerin, methanol, ethanol, propanol and butandiols.

3. The process of claim 1 wherein the promoter is selected from the group consisting of CrO 3 , Cr 2 O 3 , and combinations thereof.

4. The process of claim 3 , wherein a molar ratio of zirconium to chromium is in a range between 4:1 and 20:1.

5. The process of claim 1 wherein the catalytically active metal is selected from the group consisting of nickel, tin and combinations thereof.

6. The process of claim 1 wherein the catalytically active metal is copper.

7. The process of claim 1 , wherein at least 50% of the sugar or sugar alcohol is converted to the polyol and/or alcohol.

8. A process for converting glycerin having a selectivity for propylene glycol at reaction conditions, the process comprising the steps of:

selecting a catalyst comprising a support comprising zirconium oxide and a promoter selected from the group consisting of oxide and acid forms of chromium, molybdenum and tungsten, phosphoric acid, sulfuric acid and organic polyacids, and one or more catalytically active metals comprising copper;

introducing the catalyst to the glycerin under reaction conditions;

providing a source of hydrogen; and

converting at least 40% of the glycerin to propylene glycol.

9. A process for converting sorbitol with a selectivity for propylene glycol, ethylene glycol and/or glycerin at reaction conditions, the process comprising the steps of:

selecting a catalyst comprising a support comprising zirconium oxide and a promoter selected from the group consisting of oxide and acid forms of chromium, molybdenum and tungsten, phosphoric acid, sulfuric acid and organic polyacids, and one or more catalytically active metals comprising a combination of nickel and tin;

introducing the catalyst to the sorbitol under reaction conditions;

providing a source of hydrogen; and

converting at least 65% of the sorbitol to a combination of propylene glycol, ethylene glycol and/or glycerin.

10. The process of claim 8 wherein the zirconium oxide and the promoter are present in the support in a molar ratio of about 4:1 to about 12:1.

11. The process of claim 8 wherein the zirconium oxide and the promoter are present in the support in a molar ratio of about 8:1 to about 12:1.

12. The process of claim 8 wherein a target load of copper on the support is in a range between 5 wt. % and 30 wt. %.

13. The process of claim 8 wherein a target load of copper on the support is in a range between 10 wt. % to 20 wt. %.

14. The process of claim 8 wherein a target load of copper on the support is about 10 wt. %, and the process achieves a conversion rate of glycerin to propylene glycol of at least 40% and a selectivity to propylene glycol of at least 75 molar %.

15. The process of claim 8 wherein a target load of copper on the support is about 15 wt. %, and the process achieves a conversion rate of glycerin to propylene glycol of at least 65% and a selectivity of propylene glycol of at least 85 molar %.

16. The process of claim 9 wherein a target load of nickel on the support is about 10 wt. % to 30 wt. % and a target load of tin on the support is about 200 ppm to 5000 ppm.

17. The process of claim 16 wherein the target load of tin on the support is about 300 ppm.

18. The process of claim 17 wherein the conversion rate of sorbitol is at least 65%, the selectivity for propylene glycol is in a range between 35 molar % and 45 molar %, the selectivity for ethylene glycol is in a range between 10 molar % and 20 molar %, and the selectivity for glycerin in a range between 15 molar % and 25 molar %.

19. The process of claim 18 wherein the load of tin on the support is approximately 700 ppm and the process achieves a conversion rate of sorbitol of at least 70% and a selectivity for propylene glycol in a range between 25 molar % and 35 molar %, a selectivity for ethylene glycol in a range between 10 molar and 20 molar %, and a selectivity for glycerin in a range between 15 molar % and 25 molar %.

20. The process of claim 1 wherein the catalytically active metal is copper, a combination of nickel and copper, or a combination of nickel and tin.

21. The process of claim 1 , wherein the process is a process for converting glycerol.

22. The process of claim 1 , wherein the promoter is phosphoric acid.

23. The process of claim 1 , wherein the conversion is performed at a temperature from about 180° C. to about 250° C., and a partial pressure of hydrogen of 100 bar to 160 bar.

24. The process of claim 1 , wherein

the promoter is selected from the group consisting of CrO 3 , Cr 2 O 3 , and combinations thereof;

the molar ratio of zirconium to chromium is in a range between 4:1 to 20:1; and

the catalytically active metal is copper, a combination of nickel and copper, or a combination of nickel and tin.

25. The process of claim 24 , wherein the conversion is performed at a temperature from about 180° C. to about 250° C., and a partial pressure of hydrogen of 100 bar to 160 bar.

26. The process of claim 8 wherein the promoter is selected from the group consisting of CrO 3 , Cr 2 O 3 , and combinations thereof, and wherein the molar ratio of zirconium to chromium is in a range between 4:1 to 20:1.

27. The process of claim 9 wherein the promoter is selected from the group consisting of CrO 3 , Cr 2 O 3 , and combinations thereof, and wherein the molar ratio of zirconium to chromium is in a range between 4:1 to 20:1.