Ni-based sol–gel catalysts as promising systems for crude bio-oil upgrading: Guaiacol hydrodeoxygenation study

Catalytic hydrotreatment or hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) has been researched extensively with the crude bio-oil and its model compounds over conventional sulfided Ni(Mo), Co(Mo) catalysts and supported noble metal catalysts. These types of catalysts showed themselves unsuitable for the target HDO process, which resulted in an urgent need to search for a new catalytic system meeting such requirements as low cost, stability against coke formation and leaching of active components due to adverse effect of the acidic medium (bio-oil). In the present work a series of Ni-based catalysts with different stabilizing components has been tested in the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of guaiacol (2-methoxyphenol), bio-oil model compound. The process has been carried out in an autoclave at 320 °C and 17 MPa H2. The main products were cyclohexane, 1-methylcyclohexane-1,2-diol, and cyclohexanone. The reaction scheme of guaiacol conversion explaining the formation of main products has been suggested. The catalyst activity was found to rise with an increase in the active component loading and depend on the catalyst preparation method. The most active catalysts in HDO of guaiacol were Ni-based catalysts prepared by a sol–gel method and stabilized with SiO2 and ZrO2. According to TPR, XRD, XPS, and HRTEM, the high activity of these catalysts correlates with the high nickel loading and the high specific area of active component provided by the formation of nickel oxide–silicate species. The effect of temperature on the product distribution and catalyst activity in the target process (HDO) has been investigated as well. The catalysts were shown to be very promising systems for the production of hydrocarbon fuels by the catalytic upgrading of bio-oil.

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► A series of Ni-based catalysts has been tested in the hydrodeoxygenation of guaiacol.
► Catalysts prepared by sol–gel method possessed the highest HDO activity.
► The activity correlates with Ni loading and specific surface area of catalysts.
► Proposed guaiacol conversion scheme includes the stage with keto-enol tautomerism.
► The effect of temperature on the product distribution was also investigated.