Vapor phase hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol over environmentally friendly Cu-Ca/SiO2 catalyst

The Cu-Ca/SiO2 catalysts were prepared by sol-gel and impregnation methods, respectively. A comparative study on their structures has been carried out by XRD, BET, chemisorption of nitrous oxide and XPS techniques. The catalytic performance of two catalysts for vapor phase hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol was tested. Compared with the Cu-Ca/SiO2 catalyst prepared by impregnation method, the Cu-Ca/SiO2 catalyst prepared by sol-gel technique showed higher copper dispersion and higher activity. In addition, both catalysts revealed high selectivity in hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol.