β-CITRONELLOL DEHYDROGENATION OVER Cu/ZrO2 CATALYST

The production of citronellal is very important for the industries, because this terpene is used in the production of numerous products, ranging from pharmaceuticals to fine chemicals. The present work aimed to study, develop and evaluate reactive systems in heterogeneous catalysis, in vapor phase and continuous flow, applied to the reactions of β-citronellol, under non-oxidative conditions, using copper based catalysts. The reactional effluents were analyzed in a gas chromatograph with mass spectrometer detector (GC/MS), in order to determine the products formed. After the analysis, the production of citronellal from the catalytic dehydrogenation of β-citronellol was verified.