Influence of Mo on catalytic activity of Ni-based catalysts in hydrodeoxygenation of esters

• Ni-based catalysts modified by Mo has been tested in the esters hydrodeoxygenation.
• The activity correlates with Mo loading.
• Conversion of esters is related to changes in the ratio between Mo oxidation states.
• Ester conversion scheme was proposed.

The effect of molybdenum on activity of Ni-based catalysts in the hydrodeoxygenation of fatty acid esters was studied. Catalysts Ni-Cu/Al2O3, Ni-Mo/Al2O3, Cu-Mo/Al2O3, Mo/Al2O3, and Ni-Cu-Mo/Al2O3 with different ratios Ni/Mo were prepared and tested in the hydrodeoxygenation of methyl palmitate and ethyl caprate at 300 °С, 1 MPa. It was found that an increase in the Mo content (from 0.0% to 6.9%) in the Ni-Cu-Mo/Al2O3 catalysts leads to an increase in the yield of normal alkanes. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), temperature programmed reduction and X-ray diffraction techniques. The XPS data showed that the increase in the conversion of fatty acid esters is related to changes in the ratio between different oxidation states of molybdenum (Mo0, Mo4+, and Mo6+) on the surface of the Ni-Cu-Mo/Al2O3 catalysts.

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