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Synergy in Lignin Upgrading by a Combination of Cu-Based Mixed Oxide and Ni-Phosphide Catalysts in Supercritical
Tamás I Korányi1, Xiaoming Huang1, Alessandro E Coumans1
1Schuit Institute of Catalysis, Inorganic Materials Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology , Den Dolech 2, 5612 AZ, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
The depolymerization of lignin to bioaromatics usually requires a hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) step to lower the oxygen content. A mixed Cu-Mg-Al oxide (CuMgAlO ) is an effective catalyst for the depolymerization of lignin in supercritical ethanol. We explored the use of Ni-based cocatalysts, i.e. Ni/SiO2, Ni2P/SiO2, and Ni/ASA (ASA = amorphous silica alumina), with the aim of combining lignin depolymerization and HDO in a single reaction step. While the silica-supported catalysts were themselves hardly active in lignin upgrading, Ni/ASA displayed comparable lignin monomer yield as CuMgAlO . A drawback of using an acidic support is extensive dehydration of the ethanol solvent. Instead, combining CuMgAlO with Ni/SiO2 and especially Ni2P/SiO2 proved to be effective in increasing the lignin monomer yield, while at the same time reducing the oxygen content of the products. With Ni2P/SiO2, the lignin monomer yield was 53 wt %, leading to nearly complete deoxygenation of the aromatic products.