(2018) Process Safety and Environmental Protection_Production of renewable C₄–C₆ monoalcohols from waste biomass-derived carbohydrate via aqueous-phase hydrodeoxygenation over Pt-ReOx/Zr-P

Lee J., Ro I., Kim H.J., Kim Y.T., Kwon E.E., Huber G.W.

(Institution of Chemical Engineers) Process Safety and Environmental Protection ISSN: 9575820 Vol.115 Issue. Article No. DOI: 10.1016/j.psep.2017.05.015

A bifunctional catalyst, Pt-ReOx supported on zirconium phosphate (Pt-ReOx/Zr-P), was prepared and tested for aqueous-phase hydrodeoxygenation (APHDO) of waste biomass-derived carbohydrate (e.g., sorbitol) to produce C₄–C₆ monoalcohols such as butanol, pentanol, and hexanol in a high-pressure continuous flow reactor. For steady-state operation, the reaction parameters were optimized to achieve the highest yield of C₄–C₆ monoalcohols from APHDO of sorbitol. Approximately 30% yield of C₄–C₆ monoalcohols was reached at optimal reaction conditions (temperature: 453 K, pressure: 6.21 MPa, weight hourly space velocity (WHSV): 0.16 h⁻¹) for APHDO of sorbitol over the Pt-ReOx/Zr-P catalyst. The effect of catalyst support for monoalcohol production was also evaluated by comparison between the Pt-ReOx/Zr-P and carbon supported Pt-ReOx (Pt-ReOx/C) catalysts. The Zr-P supported catalyst exhibited a four times higher yield of C₄–C₆ monoalcohols than the carbon supported catalyst, suggesting that acid sites atomically separated from metal sites play a crucial role in producing monoalcohols via C–O bond cleavage of chemical intermediates produced during APHDO of sorbitol. © 2017 Institution of Chemical Engineers

This work was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Grant funded by the Korean Government (MSIP) (No. NRF-2015H1D3A1066513 ). This work was also supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Grant funded by the Korean Government (Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST)) (No. NRF-2016R1D1A1B03933027 ). This research was also supported by the core KRICT project ( KK1601-B00 ) of the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology.