Hydrodeoxygenation of Bio-Oil on Bimetallic Catalysts: From Model Compound to Real Feed

Thuan Minh Huynh^1,2*, Udo Armbruster¹, Luong Huu Nguyen², Duc Anh Nguyen², Andreas Martin^1*

¹Leibniz Institute for Catalysis at University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
²Vietnam Petroleum Institute, Hanoi, Vietnam.

DOI: 10.4236/jsbs.2015.54014                

Abstract

Two series of bimetallic Ni-Co catalysts and corresponding monometallic catalysts with ca. 20 wt% metal loading were evaluated in hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of phenol as a model compound for bio-oil. The bimetallic catalysts outperformed the corresponding monometallic catalyst in terms of conversion and cyclohexane selectivity. This could be attributed to the formation of Ni-Co alloy, which caused a decrease in metal particle size and stabilized Ni active sites in the near surface region. The balanced combination of formed Ni-Co alloy with acidity from supports allowed performing all individual steps in the reaction network toward desired products at high rate. Consequently, the two best-performing catalysts were tested in HDO of wood based bio-oil, showing that the bimetallic catalyst 10Ni10Co/HZSM-5 was more effective than 20Ni/HZSM-5 in terms of degree of deoxygenation and upgraded bio-oil yield. These findings might open an opportunity for development of a novel cheap but effective catalyst for a key step in the process chain from biomass to renewable liquid fuels.

Keywords

Bimetallic Catalysts, Hydrodeoxygenation, Phenol, Bio-Oil, Ni-Co Alloy

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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