Intensified Continuous Flow Process for the Scalable Production of Bio-Based Glycerol Carbonate.

A subtle combination of fundamental and applied organic chemistry toward process intensification is demonstrated for the large-scale production of bio-based glycerol carbonate under flow conditions. The direct carbonation of bio-based glycidol with CO2 is successfully carried out under intensified flow conditions, with Barton's base as a potent homogeneous organocatalyst. Process metrics for the CO2 coupling step (for the upstream production, output: 3.6 kg day-1, Space Time Yield (STY): 2.7 kg h-1 L-1, Environmental factor (E-factor): 4.7) outclass previous reports. High conversion and selectivity are achieved in less than 30 s of residence time at pilot scale with a stoichiometric amount of CO2. Supporting DFT computations reveal the unique features of the mechanism in presence of Brønsted bases.