TY - JOUR
T1 - Solvent-Free Catalytic Hydrotreatment of Alcell Lignin Using Mono- and Bimetallic Ni(Mo) Catalysts Supported on Mesoporous Alumina
AU - Yang, Huaizhou
AU - Hita, Idoia
AU - Wang, Zhiwen
AU - Winkelman, Jozef G. M.
AU - Deuss, Peter J.
AU - Heeres, Hero J.
N1 - Funding Information:
H.Y. and Z.W. acknowledge the China Scholarship Council for funding his Ph.D. study (Grant Numbers 201706160156 and 201706300138, respectively). Additionally, the authors thank Leon Rohrbach, Erwin Wilbers, Marcel de Vries, and Hans van der Velde for their analytical and technical support. Zhenlei Zhang, Jiachen Li, Majid Ahmadi and Gert H. ten Brink are acknowledged for their help with the characterization of the spent catalysts.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.
PY - 2023/2/14
Y1 - 2023/2/14
N2 - Technical lignins are an attractive and renewable source for the production of aromatic chemicals. However, efficient depolymerization of technical lignins to valuable low-molecular-weight chemicals is challenging due to its recalcitrant nature. Here, we report the use of nonprecious metal-based, monometallic Ni (prereduced) and bimetallic NiMo (in situ sulfided) catalysts supported on mesoporous alumina, either as such or doped with Si, Mg, or Ti, for a solvent-free catalytic hydrotreatment (batch, 400 °C, 4 h reaction time, 100 bar initial H2 pressure) of Alcell lignin to obtain oils enriched in biobased chemicals like alkylphenols and the parent phenol. These are important building blocks in the chemical industry and are currently obtained from fossil resources. The catalysts were prepared by a one-pot evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) method and characterized by various techniques [N2 physisorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM)]. The best result was obtained using a monometallic Ni catalyst with an ordered mesoporous alumina support doped with Ti, giving an oil yield of 57 wt % with 10 wt % alkylphenols on lignin intake. By comparison, it was shown that the mesoporous structure of alumina is crucial for enhanced lignin oil yields.
AB - Technical lignins are an attractive and renewable source for the production of aromatic chemicals. However, efficient depolymerization of technical lignins to valuable low-molecular-weight chemicals is challenging due to its recalcitrant nature. Here, we report the use of nonprecious metal-based, monometallic Ni (prereduced) and bimetallic NiMo (in situ sulfided) catalysts supported on mesoporous alumina, either as such or doped with Si, Mg, or Ti, for a solvent-free catalytic hydrotreatment (batch, 400 °C, 4 h reaction time, 100 bar initial H2 pressure) of Alcell lignin to obtain oils enriched in biobased chemicals like alkylphenols and the parent phenol. These are important building blocks in the chemical industry and are currently obtained from fossil resources. The catalysts were prepared by a one-pot evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) method and characterized by various techniques [N2 physisorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM)]. The best result was obtained using a monometallic Ni catalyst with an ordered mesoporous alumina support doped with Ti, giving an oil yield of 57 wt % with 10 wt % alkylphenols on lignin intake. By comparison, it was shown that the mesoporous structure of alumina is crucial for enhanced lignin oil yields.
KW - alkylphenols
KW - biobased chemicals
KW - lignin
KW - Ni and Mo catalysts
KW - ordered mesoporous structures
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85148434559&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c04447
DO - 10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c04447
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85148434559
SN - 2168-0485
VL - 11
SP - 3170
EP - 3181
JO - ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering
JF - ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering
IS - 8
ER -