Efficient hydrothermal conversion of cellulose into methane over porous Ni catalyst

• Efficient hydrothermal conversion of cellulose to methane over porous Ni catalyst was reported.
• Porous Ni catalyst was effective in the production of methane from cellulose with high selectivity and high yield.
• The mechanism for the methane production from cellulose was proposed.

An efficient conversion of cellulose to CH4 over porous Ni catalyst under hydrothermal conditions has been investigated. The results indicated that porous Ni catalyst showed significant catalytic activity and selectivity for the cellulose conversion to methane. Porous Ni catalyst still remained good activity with gaseous hydrogen after three runs for the transformation. The maximum CH4 yield of 73.8% from cellulose was achieved in the presence of Zn as a reductant over porous Ni at 325 °C for 2 h. This value obtained is the highest yield for the formation of CH4 from cellulose to date. The mechanistic studies for this transformation proposed three possible pathways for the formation of CH4 from cellulose: (1) pyrolysis, (2) hydrogenation of intermediates, and (3) methanation. The present work provides an environmentally benign and efficient route for the conversion of cellulose to CH4 with high efficiency and high selectivity and has great significance for both academia and industry.

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