One-Pot Process for Hydrodeoxygenation of Lignin to Alkanes Using Ru-Based Bimetallic and Bifunctional Catalysts Supported on Zeolite Y

Hongliang Wang, Hao Ruan, Maoqi Feng, Yuling Qin, Heather Job, Langli Luo, Chongmin Wang, Mark H. Engelhard, Erik Kuhn, Xiaowen Chen, Melvin P. Tucker, Bin Yang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

136 Scopus Citations

Abstract

The synthesis of high-efficiency and low-cost catalysts for hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of waste lignin to advanced biofuels is crucial for enhancing current biorefinery processes. Inexpensive transition metals, including Fe, Ni, Cu, and Zn, were severally co-loaded with Ru on HY zeolite to form bimetallic and bifunctional catalysts. These catalysts were subsequently tested for HDO conversion of softwood lignin and several lignin model compounds. Results indicated that the inexpensive earth-abundant metals could modulate the hydrogenolysis activity of Ru and decrease the yield of low-molecular-weight gaseous products. Among these catalysts, Ru-Cu/HY showed the best HDO performance, affording the highest selectivity to hydrocarbon products. The improved catalytic performance of Ru-Cu/HY was probably a result of the following three factors: (1) high total and strong acid sites, (2) good dispersion of metal species and limited segregation, and (3) high adsorption capacity for polar fractions, including hydroxyl groups and ether bonds. Moreover, all bifunctional catalysts proved to be superior over the combination catalysts of Ru/Al2O3 and HY zeolite.

Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)1846-1856
Number of pages11
JournalChemSusChem
Volume10
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - 2017

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/JA-5100-68188

Keywords

  • bifunctional catalysts
  • bimetallic catalysts
  • biofuel
  • hydrodeoxygenation
  • lignin

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