Production of ethylene glycol from direct catalytic conversion of cellulose over a binary catalyst of metal-loaded modified SBA-15 and phosphotungstic acid

This study presents the utilization of a binary catalyst composed of metal-loaded modified SBA-15 (M/SBA-15) and phosphotungstic acid (H3PW12O40) for ethylene glycol (EG) production from direct catalytic conversion of cellulose. M/SBA-15 (M = Ru, Au, Pd, Pt, Rh and Ni) catalysts were prepared using the impregnation method and characterized by means of XRD, N2 physisorption, TEM and H2-temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR) techniques. Their catalytic performance was then studied in detail on the basis of cellulose conversion and the selectivity of polyols and EG. The results showed that the mesoporous structure of the SBA-15 sample was well maintained after the metal-loaded modification, and almost all of the selected catalysts gave about 100% conversion of cellulose. However, the selectivity for EG was greatly different. Among the various binary catalysts, the combination of Rh/SBA-15 and H3PW12O40 gave the best selectivity to EG (55.5%), whereas the worst selectivity of EG (11%) was obtained over the Au/SBA-15 and H3PW12O40 system under identical conditions. In addition to phosphotungstic acid, other W compounds were also studied in combination with the Ru/SBA-15 catalyst. The results showed that the EG selectivity depended on the W compounds as follows: H4SiW12O40 < H2WO4 < H3PW12O40. Therefore, the binary catalyst of Rh/SBA-15 and H3PW12O40 showed the greatest potential for EG production from direct catalytic conversion of cellulose.