Transformation of biomass polyol into hydrocarbon fuels in aqueous medium over Ru-Mo/CNT catalyst

The hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of sorbitol in aqueous medium was performed over CNT supported Ru-Mo bimetallic catalyst. Compared with Ru-Mo/AC, Ru-Mo/CNT showed higher yield and selectivity towards C5/C6 alkanes due to the higher relative rate of CO vs. CC bond cleavage of sorbitol. Based on TEM, XPS and H2-TPR characterizations, the role of CNT in HDO reaction was studied to clarify the likely reasons for the selective CO vs. CC bond cleavage. It is suggested that an increase concentration of MoOx (x < 3) species and a smaller metal particle size in the Ru-Mo/CNT catalyst are key factors for the improvement of HDO performance.