Process for the production of allyl compounds by deoxydehydration of glycerol

A continuous-flow process for the production of allyl compounds by deoxydehydration of glycerol comprising:

• (a) forming a reactive solution by mixing glycerol (1) with:
• a carboxylic acid (2), or
• a triethyl orthoester, preferably triethyl orthoformate (TEOF), or a combination thereof, with the proviso that when used alone, the carboxylic acid (2) is present in the reactive solution in an amount of at least 2 equivalents;
• (b) feeding the reactive solution to an inlet of a channel of a thermolysis microreactor module wherein the channel has an inner hydraulic diameter, D=4 A/P, wherein A is the area and P the perimeter of a cross-section of the channel, of not more than 1000 μm,
• (c) exposing the reactive solution to thermolysis by driving a flow of the reactive solution along the channel from the inlet to an outlet, for a thermolysis time, t, at a pressure, P, and at a thermolysis temperature, T, larger than 200° C., to form thermolysis products including at least one allyl compound;
• and
• (d) recovering the thermolysis products at the outlet and separating the at least one allyl compound from the other thermolysis products.