Hydrodeoxygenation of 2-furyl methyl ketone as a model compound in bio-oil from pyrolysis of Saccharina Japonica Alga in fixed-bed reactor

• CoP/Al2O3 catalyzed the hydrodeoxygenation of 2-furyl methyl ketone (FMK).
• CoP/Al2O3 had higher selectivity to methyl cyclopentane.
• Effects of acidity, reaction time/temperature, and metal loading were investigated.
• Complete conversion of FMK into methyl cyclopentane over CoP/Al2O3 was achieved at reaction temperature of 400 °C.

The model ketone of bio-oil, 2-furyl methyl ketone (FMK) or 1-(2-furanyl)-ethanone, which is the main component in Saccharina (Laminaria) Japonica (S. Japonica) pyrolysis products, was successfully upgraded into methyl cyclopentane in the liquid phase and methane in the gas phase. Hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of FMK over cobalt based phosphide supported on γ-Al2O3 substrates made the conversion possible and highly effective. Complete HDO of FMK into methyl cyclopentane and methane was achievable at 400 °C reaction temperature using CoP/γ-Al2O3 catalyst synthesized with 10 wt.% Co loading and calcined at 500 °C.