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The synergistic catalysis in the catalytic hydrogenolysis (CH) of lignin and its model compounds over a Ni-Ru/AC bimetallic surface was well established. The Ni-Ru/AC exhibits excellent activity and stability for catalytic hydrogenolysis of lignin and its model compound. The additions of Ru into supported Ni/AC can not only improve the overall reactants conversion, but also modify the product distribution. The apparent activation energy (E a) of BPE hydrogenolysis over Ni-Ru/AC is measured approximately to be 18.3 kJ/mol. This value is considerably lower than the values measured for monometallic Ni/AC (42.4 kJ/mol). Additionally, the turnover frequency (TOF) of Ni-Ru/AC (62.7 h−1) was much higher than that of Ni/AC (5.1 h−1). In case of CH of lignin, Ni-Ru/AC gave better total liquid yield and higher relative content of main aromatic monomers. The enhancement in the overall hydrogenolysis activity of reactants over bimetallic Ni-Ru/AC is related to the synergistic effect of Ni and Ru. Various characterization methods (XRD, XPS, TEM-EDS, SEM-EDX and BET) are performed to elucidate the formation of synergistic effect. This synergistic effect could originate from the generation of additional surface active sites, small size of metal particles and high dispersion of metal particles. Unlabelled Image • A synergic effect between Ru and Ni in bimetallic catalyst was observed. • The turnover frequency and activation energies of catalysts were calculated. • Proposed mechanism of cleavage C O of BPE over bimetallic Ni Ru catalyst • Bimetallic Ni Ru showed higher activity for CH of lignin and its model compound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]