Abstract
In this paper we report on some mathematical investigations of the chemical process for the hydrogenolysis of glycerol over a heterogeneous metal catalyst. The main interest of this process is related to the fact that glycerol is produced as a by-product
in the production of biodiesel in huge amounts that are expected to exceed the projected demands. This makes the sustainability of biodiesel production depend on the conversion of the glycerol into useful products hence it is a desirable
goal to have effective conversion methods. A reaction model from literature is used to derive a system of ordinary differential equations (ODE) which is then analysed using methods from qualitative analysis of ODEs. Numerical solutions
of the system are simulated to try and find out the solution’s behaviour in the chemistry point of view. It was found that all solutions of the model converge to some stable limit point in a 2-dimensional plane in the positive cone of
the \(\mathbb{R}^5\) phase space, and the limit point depends on the values of rate constants \(k_i\) as well as on the hydrogen to glycerol initial ratios. Even though the results are based on a specific kinetic model, it is hoped that
they may help in providing tools for better understanding and description of the reaction.
