An Overview of the Latest Advances in the Catalytic Synthesis of Glycerol Carbonate

In recent years, the development of renewable energy alternatives to traditional fossil fuels has become one of the major challenges all over the world, due to the decline of fossil fuel reserves and their effect on global warming. Biodiesel has become a popular alternative energy source to reduce gas emissions compared to traditional fossil fuels. According to statistics, a nine-fold increase in global biofuel production between 2000 and 2020 was observed. However, its production generates a large amount of glycerol as a by-product, posing an environmental problem when disposed directly in landfills or by incineration. Therefore, low-value glycerol should be converted into high value-added derivatives. As glycerol carbonate is one of the most important derivatives of glycerol, this review aims to discuss the studies over the last ten years about glycerol carbonate synthetic methods, including the typical routes such as phosgene, esterification reaction, urea, oxidative and direct carbonylation as well as several rare synthetic procedures. At the same time, it summarizes the different catalytic reaction systems of each route comparing the advantages and disadvantages of various catalysts and evaluating their catalytic activity. Finally, the future development of glycerol carbonate synthesis is prospected from the point of view of development, technology research and industrialization.