A novel and cost-effective heterogeneous catalyst for glycerol carbonate production through transesterification was developed by impregnating smectite clay with K₂CO₃. Comprehensive structural and chemical analyses, including X-ray diffraction Analysis (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)-Electron Dispersion Spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis measurements, were employed to characterize the catalysts. Among the various catalysts prepared, the one impregnated with 40 wt% K₂CO₃ on smectite and calcined at 550 °C exhibited the highest catalytic activity, primarily due to its superior basicity. To enhance the efficiency of the transesterification process, several reaction parameters were optimized, including the molar ratio between propylene carbonate and glycerol reactor loading of the catalyst and reaction temperature. The highest glycerol carbonate conversion rate, approximately 77.13% ± 1.2%, was achieved using the best catalyst under the following optimal conditions: 2 wt% reactor loading, 110 °C reaction temperature, 2:1 propylene carbonate to glycerol molar ratio, and 6h reaction duration. Furthermore, both the raw clay and the best calcined K₂CO₃-impregnated catalysts demonstrated remarkable stability, maintaining their high activity for up to four consecutive reaction cycles. Finally, a kinetic analysis was performed using kinetic data from several runs employing raw clay and the most active K₂CO₃-modified clay at different temperatures, observing that a simple reversible second-order potential kinetic model of the quasi-homogeneous type fits perfectly to such data in diverse temperature ranges.

With the advent of biodiesel as a substitute/additive for diesel, the production of glycerol has experienced an increase, as it is an unavoidable byproduct of the biodiesel process; therefore, novel products and processes based on this triol are being very actively researched. Glycerol carbonate emerges as an advanced humectant from glycerol and a monomer for diverse polycarbonates. Its production in high yields and amounts can be achieved through the solventless transcarbonation of glycerol with other organic carbonates driven by alkaline catalysts, standing out amongst the cyclic carbonates due to its reactivity. Here, we have studied the main operational variables that affect the transcarbonation reaction of glycerol and ethylene carbonate catalyzed by zinc stearate: catalyst concentration, reagent molar ratio, and temperature. Subsequently, an appropriate kinetic model was fitted to all data obtained at 80 °C and several catalyst concentrations as well as reagent molar ratios. Finally, the selected kinetic model was extended and validated by fitting it to data obtained at several temperatures, finding that the activation energy of this reaction with this catalyst is around 69.2 kJ·mol⁻¹. The kinetic model suggests that the reaction is bimolecular and elemental and that the process is interfacial in essence, with the catalyst dispersed in a narrow space between polar (glycerol) and nonpolar (ethylene carbonate) phases.