A catalytic approach for the dehydrogenative upgradation of crude glycerol to lactate and hydrogen generation†

The ambiguous nature of non-innocent ligand catalysts provides an excellent strategy for developing an efficient catalyst system featuring extended applicability in sustainable catalysis. In this study, we unveil the catalytic activity of an NNN-Ru catalyst for lactic acid synthesis from a mixture of glycerol, ethylene glycol, and methanol. The developed strategy was also implemented to synthesize lactate (up to 80% yield) with good selectivity via the dehydrogenative upgradation of a crude glycerol and ethylene glycol mixture. As an extended utility, the method was utilized for lactate synthesis from triglyceride directly with hydrogen gas generation.