Hydrodeoxygenation of vanillin over carbon supported metal catalysts

: J.L. Santos, M. Alda-Onggar, V. Fedorov, M. Peurla, K. Eränen, P. Mäki-Arvela, M.Á. Centeno, D. Yu. Murzin

Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

: 2018

: Applied Catalysis A: General

: APPLIED CATALYSIS A-GENERAL

: APPL CATAL A-GEN

: 561

: 137

: 149

: 13

: 0926-860X

: 1873-3875

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcata.2018.05.010

Different carbon supported metal catalysts were synthesized, and characterized with various physico-chemical methods and tested in vanillin hydrodeoxygenation under 30 bar total pressure in water as a solvent at 100 degrees C. The catalysts exhibited high specific surface area and the metal dispersion decreased in following order: Pt/ C > Pd/C > Au/C > Rh/C > Ru/C. The most active catalyst was Pd/C followed by Ru/C. Vanillin hydrodeoxygenation proceeded via hydrogenation forming vanillyl alcohol further to its hydrogenolysis forming p-creosol. Both hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis were promoted by Pd/C, which exhibited rather high dispersion. The highest selectivity to p-creosol, 95% at complete vanillin conversion, was obtained with Pd/C. Kinetic modelling of vanillyl alcohol selectivity as a function of vanillin conversion was performed.