Carbon based naphthalenesulfonic acid was used as a catalyst in the synthesis of alkenyl succinic anhydride (ASA) from nonterminal olefin of C13~C14 and maleic anhydride. The catalytic activity and stability of the catalyst were evaluated quantitatively by gas chromatography. The results show that carbon based naphthalenesulfonic acid catalyst has high activity and good stability in the synthesis of ASA. When the activation temperature of catalyst is 250 ℃, the optimum conditions are as follows: reaction temperature 190 ℃, reaction time 4 h, weight ratio of catalyst to reactant 1∶100, molar ratio of nonterminal olefin to anhydride is 3∶1, and the weight percentage of antioxidant 2,6-di-tert-butyl-p-cresol is 0.5%. Under the above conditions, the yield of ASA can reach 59.6%.

Active solid base catalyst was prepared from waste eggshell and characterized by TGA-DTA and BET analysis, and then applied to produce methyl esters of soybean oil from soybean oil and methanol. The effects of reaction temperature, molar ratio of methanol to soybean oil, catalyst dosage (weight ratio of catalyst to oil) and reaction time on the transesterification performance were investigated. A high biodiesel yield (98.9%) can be obtained at a molar ratio of methanol to oil 10∶1, the mass fraction of catalyst 3.0%, firing temperature 950 ℃ for 3.0 h. Further, reusability of the prepared catalyst was investigated under the optimal reacting condition, the experimental results show that the catalyst maintained high catalytic activity and higher biodiesel yield (>98%) is obtained even after recyc1ing 13 times.

Solid acid catalyst NaHSO ₄·SiO ₂ was prepared by sol-gel method from NaHSO ₄·SiO ₂, TEOS and isopropyl alcohol, and applied in the biodiesel production with the esterification reaction of oleic acid and methanol. The factors including catalyst calcination temperature, NaHSO ₄ loading, reaction time, catalyst amount, reactants molar ratio methanol to oleic acid on the biodiesel yield were investigated. The experimental results show that solid acid catalyst NaHSO ₄·SiO ₂ has high catalytic activity, the esterification reaction conversion can reach 95.19% under the following optimal conditions: catalyst calcination temperature 200 ℃, NaHSO ₄ loading 15.0%, reaction time of 5.0 h, n(methanol)∶n(oleic acid)= 10∶1 and weight ratio of catalyst to oleic acid 10∶1. 

Silica-supported H3PW12O40catalysts (TPA/SiO ₂) with different TPA loadings were prepared by sol-gel method and characterized by XRD and N2-adsorption ． Their activities in the condensation of glycerol with acetone to produce acetone ketal of glycerol were studied. The effects of calcination temperature of catalyst, TPA loading, catalyst dosage and reaction time were investigated in detail. It is found that the TPA/SiO₂ catalyst, with mean grain size of 20.9~26.4 nm in typical amorphous phase, exhibited excellent catalytic activity and good stability for synthesis of acetone ketal of glycerol. The optimal conditions areasfollows:  catalyst  calcination  temperature  500  ℃ ,  the  mass  radio  of  the  TPA  loading  15.0%, n(acetone) ∶ n(glycerol)=1 ∶ 3, catalyst/glycerol mass ratio 8.0%, cyclohexane 15 mL and reaction time 6.0 h. The yield of Solketal can reach over 93.2% at the optimum conditions.

 

Cyclohexanone 1,2-propanediol ketal was synthesized by using cyclohexanone 1,2-propylene glycol as starting materials and silica-supported ferric sulfate \[Fe ₂(SO ₄) ₃/SiO ₂\] solid acid as a catalyst under solvent-less conditions. The catalyst was prepared by sol-gel and impregnation methods. Efects of factors on yield of product，such as calcination temperature of Fe ₂(SO ₄) ₃/SiO ₂ solid acid catalyst, the mass fration of Fe ₂(SO ₄) ₃, molar ratio of the reactant，reaction time，mass fraction of catalyst and its stability，were investigated in detail. The results show that the Fe ₂(SO ₄) ₃/SiO ₂ has high catalytic activities. The optimal reaction conditions are: calcination temperatures of Fe ₂₍SO ₄) ₃/SiO ₂ solid acid catalyst 300 ℃, the mass fration of Fe ₂(SO ₄) ₃ in SiO ₂ 20%, molar ratio of cyclohexanone to 1,2-propanediol 1∶1, the mass fraction of catalyst 5% and the reaction time 70 min. Under the above conditions the yield of cyclohexanone 1,2-propanediol ketal is 98.21%. Fe ₂(SO ₄) ₃/SiO ₂ catalyst is excellent in stability and reusability，and yield of cyclohexanone 1,2-propanediol ketal keeps at 88.90% after being used for 5 times

Silica-supported H3PW12O40 (e.g. PW12/SiO2) catalysts were prepared in the sol-gel method to solve the problems of H3PW12O40 such as low surface area, difficult separation, and reuse. The catalysts were characterized by XRD and N2-adsorption, their catalytic performance for the condensation of benzaldehyde with glycerol evaluated. The effects of calcination temperature of catalyst, PW12 loading, catalyst dosage and reaction time were investigated. The results show that PW12/SiO2(550 ℃) solid acid have a mean grain size of 20.9~26.4 nm which are typically amorphous. The nanoparticles have high catalytic activity and stability for synthesizing benzaldehyde glycerol acetals. The optimum conditions are as follows: the catalyst calcination temperature is 550 ℃, PW12 loading (mass fraction ) is 10%, the catalyst dosage is 0.5 g, n(benzaldehyde)∶n(glycerol)=1∶1.1, the volume of toluene is 15 mL, the reaction time is 2.0 h. Under these conditions, the conversion of benzaldehyde is 99.2%. Obviouslyy, the unique structure of the Keggin anions and surface acid center and the high specific surface area and the pseudoliquid phase of PW12/SiO2 play an important role in the condensation of benzaldehyde with glycerol.

Amorphous carbon-based material prepared from expanded starch and p-toluene sulfonic acid has been examined as a novel strong solid acid catalyst. The catalytic performances were studied on esterification of oleic acids with ethanol. The effects of molar ratio of alcohol with oleic acid, catalyst concentration and reaction time were discussed. The results of XRD and acid-base titration indicated the incompletely carbonization of the mixtures of expanded starch and p-toluene sulfonic acid results in amorphous carbon consisting of small polycyclic aromatic carbon sheets. The results indicate that carbon-based catalysts are highly effective, minimally polluting and reusable catalysts that are highly suited to the production of biodiesel from waste oils with a high acid value. When the esterification reaction was carried out with molar ratio of ethanol to oleic acid of 8∶1, reaction time of 6.0 h and w(catalyst) 5.0％，the maximum yield of ethyl oleate was 83.78％. There was very little change in the catalytic activity of the regenerated catalyst, even after six cycles.

The CuSO ₄/SiO ₂ solid acid catalyst was prepared by sol-gel and impregnation methods. The CuSO ₄/SiO ₂ solid acid catalyst were characterized by XRD、N2-adsorption and NH3-TPD. Cyclohexanone ethylene ketal was synthesized from cyclohexanone and ethylene glycol through condensation, CuSO ₄/SiO ₂ as catalyst. The effects of calcination temperature of catalyst, CuSO ₄ loading, catalyst dosage, molar ratio of reactants, reaction time，types and volume of entrainer on the synthesis were investigated. The results show that the CuSO ₄ solid acid catalyst has high catalytic activities and good stability. The optimum conditions are as follows: the calcination temperature of catalyst is 500 ℃, the CuSO ₄ loading is 20%(w), molar ratio of cyclohexanone to ethylene glycol is 1∶1.2. Under these conditions, the yield of cyclohexanone ethylene ketal  would  be 99.1%.

New carbon-based solid acid catalyst was synthesized from starch and p-toluene sulfonic acid，and applied for the preparation of biodiesel with soybean oil and ethanol. The effect of reaction conditions such as the reaction time, reaction temperature, the molar ratio of ethanol with soybean oil, the amount of catalyst to the yield of biodiesel was investigated. The new carbon-based solid acid catalyst shows high catalytic activity and good stability, and can easily be separated from the products. The optimal conditions are: the molar ratio of ethanol to soybean oil 8∶1, the amount of catalyst is the quality of soybean oil 7.0%（w）, reaction time 8 h , reaction temperature 80 ℃. Under optimum condition, the yield of biodiesel could reach 67.4%.