Effects of Solvents on Acetic Acid Ketonization over Zirconia Catalysts – a Combined Theoretical and Experimental Study

The condensed solvent environment plays an important role in the bio-oil upgrading processes where aqueous or organic solvents are inevitably involved. This combined theoretical and experimental work demonstrates that both aqueous and apolar organic solvents affect not only the catalyst structure and stability but also the reaction activity and selectivity.