(266b) Cerium-Containing HZSM-5 Catalysts for Biomass Upgrading

Cerium-Containing HZSM-5 Catalysts for
Biomass Upgrading

Gregory T. Neumann, and
Jason C. Hicks^*

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering,
University of Notre Dame, IN

Lignocellulosic biomass has been widely studied as a
renewable source for the sustainable production of chemicals and fuels.^1,2 Catalytic fast pyrolysis, a scalable,
thermochemical process, has received particular attention as a method to upgrade
lignocellulosic biomass directly to chemicals and fuels. We report the
synthesis, characterization, and glucose catalytic fast pyrolysis results of HZSM-5
catalysts modified through the addition of cerium.  Cerium was incorporated in the HZSM-5 materials
using three different methods: 1) incipient wetness, 2) ion-exchange, and 3) incorporation
in the dry gel.³ Interestingly, of the three materials studied for
the catalytic fast pyrolysis of glucose, only the dry gel, cerium incorporated
catalyst significantly altered the product distribution.³ With this
catalyst, the production of benzene, toluene and xylenes decreased, while
production of furans, aldehydes, and ketones increased.

It was also found that the cerium-containing, dry gel catalyst
could stabilize pyrolysis oils through decarbonylation and ketonization
reactions.  For instance, the cerium
incorporated dry gel HZSM-5 catalyst enhanced the decarbonylation reaction
pathway of furfural to produce CO and furan.⁴ Another component of pyrolysis-oil
is acetic acid. We have shown that the cerium incorporated dry gel HZSM-5
catalyst has the ability to couple acetic acid to selectively produce acetone
through a ketonization reaction pathway.  These materials have been characterized
by N₂ physisorption, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), diffuse
reflectance UV-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, diffuse reflectance FT-IR,
scanning electron microscopy (SEM), scanning transmission electron microscopy
(STEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), ammonia temperature-programmed
desorption (NH₃-TPD), and combination focused ion beam (FIB)/ SEM.  

1.         Hicks,
J. C., J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2011, 2 (18), 2280-2287.

2.         Huber,
G. W.; Iborra, S.; Corma, A., Chem. Rev. 2006, 106 (9), 4044-4098.

3.         Neumann,
G. T.; Hicks, J. C., ACS Catal. 2012, 642-646.

4.         Neumann,
G. T.; Hicks, J. C., Top. Catal. 2012, 55 (3-4), 196-208.