Method for producing 1,2-propylene glycol using bio-based glycerol

A method for producing 1,2-propylene glycol from bio-based glycerol, characterized in that, in the method, a CuO—CeO2—SiO2 catalyst is filled into a fixed bed reactor, a glycerol solution is flowed into the reactor together with hydrogen gas in a manner of top feeding, and the reaction temperature is controlled to be 170˜200° C. and the reaction pressure is controlled to be 1.0˜5.0 MPa, thereby the production of 1,2-propylene glycol from the hydrogenation of glycerol is achieved;

• in the CuO—CeO2—SiO2 catalyst, the mass percent content of CuO is 30˜70 wt % and the mass percent content of CeO2 is 3˜15 wt %;
• the solvent in the glycerol solution is selected from a group consisting of methanol, water, or the mixture of methanol and water.