Various ruthenium precursor (Ru= RuCl3, Ru2 = Ru(acac)3, Ru3 = Ru3(CO)12) supported on bentonite were prepared by conventional impregnation method. Their catalytic performances were evaluated in the hydrogenolysis of glycerol using autoclave Parr reactor under mild reaction conditions of 150°C, hydrogen pressure 30 bar for 7 hours. Among the studied catalyst, 5% Ru/bentonite catalyst prepared form Ru and Ru3 precursor exhibited higher and similar activity which are (79.6%) and 72.5% respectively. In contrast, Ru2/bentonite prepared from Ru(acac)3 precusor gave lowest activity (41.8%). In term of selectivity to 1,2-propanediol, Ru2 and Ru3 precusor gave higher and similar selectivity ( 67% and 66.9%) compared to Ru precursor (50.6%). These results indicated that metal precursor plays the important role on activity and selectivity of the catalyst. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, XPS, BET, FESEM-EDX and TEM, and the reasons for the high performances of the catalyst were also discussed.
