1. Synergy in lignin upgrading by a combination of Cu-based mixed oxide and Ni-phosphide catalysts in supercritical ethanol
- Author
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Tamás I. Korányi, Ejm Emiel Hensen, Xiaoming Huang, AE Alessandro Coumans, and Inorganic Materials & Catalysis
- Subjects
General Chemical Engineering ,Amorphous silica-alumina ,010402 general chemistry ,01 natural sciences ,Lignin ,Catalysis ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Environmental Chemistry ,Organic chemistry ,SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy ,Deoxygenation ,Ni P ,010405 organic chemistry ,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment ,Depolymerization ,Hydrodeoxygenation ,Supercritical ethanol ,General Chemistry ,Supercritical fluid ,0104 chemical sciences ,chemistry ,Chemical engineering ,Aromatics ,Ni2P ,Mixed oxide ,SDG 7 – Betaalbare en schone energie ,Research Article - Abstract
The depolymerization of lignin to bioaromatics usually requires a hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) step to lower the oxygen content. A mixed Cu–Mg–Al oxide (CuMgAlOx) is an effective catalyst for the depolymerization of lignin in supercritical ethanol. We explored the use of Ni-based cocatalysts, i.e. Ni/SiO2, Ni2P/SiO2, and Ni/ASA (ASA = amorphous silica alumina), with the aim of combining lignin depolymerization and HDO in a single reaction step. While the silica-supported catalysts were themselves hardly active in lignin upgrading, Ni/ASA displayed comparable lignin monomer yield as CuMgAlOx. A drawback of using an acidic support is extensive dehydration of the ethanol solvent. Instead, combining CuMgAlOx with Ni/SiO2 and especially Ni2P/SiO2 proved to be effective in increasing the lignin monomer yield, while at the same time reducing the oxygen content of the products. With Ni2P/SiO2, the lignin monomer yield was 53 wt %, leading to nearly complete deoxygenation of the aromatic products., The use of Ni-based hydrodeoxygenation cocatalysts for the CuMgAlOx-catalyzed depolymerization of soda lignin in supercritical ethanol is investigated.
- Published
- 2017