(15c) Selective Deoxygenation of Furfuraldehyde On Bimetallic Catalysts

Furfuraldehyde is commonly found in bio-oil, and this remarkably reduces fuel properties and stability during storage. Deoxygenation is typically needed to produce the bio-oil more fungible with standard gasoline and diesel. This can be achieved by hydrotreating using various noble metal catalysts. The reaction mainly involves decarbonylation and hydrogenation of the carbonyl group. In the present work, the silica supported Pd-Cu and Fe-Ni bimetallics were used for hydrodeoxygenation of fufuraldehyde. The reactions were performed at the temperature between 210-230oC under atmospheric pressure of hydrogen. In the case of Pd/SiO2 catalysts, TPR suggests that the addition of Cu to supported Pd catalyst results in formation of Pd-Cu bimetallic alloy. The activity and selectivity of the catalysts were largely influenced by the Cu content. The yield of furan from decarboylation was significantly reduced when Cu was incorporated. However, increasing the hydrogenation activity to produce furfuryl alcohol can be observed. For Ni/SiO2 catalyst, the main products were furan and butane which is derived from ring opening reaction. 2-Methyl furan was the minor product on Ni catalyst. However, the addition of Fe to Ni catalyst dramatically increased the yield of 2-methyl furan while reducing the yield of furan. It is clearly seen that the addition of Cu into Pd catalyst and Fe into Ni catalyst can suppress the decarbonylation activity while enhancing the hydrogenation activity.