(240e) Investigation of Ni Catalysts for Biomass Deoxygenation

Phenols and heterocyclic oxygen containing compounds are often found in the reaction product when high water content biomass (e.g. microalgae) is processed hydrothermally. Hydrothermal catalytic deoxygenation of these molecules may provide significant processing advantages over conventional hydrotreating because upon removal of oxygen, the molecules lose their solubility in water. This may simplify the oil/water separation after crude oil processing. 

Literature has shown that platinum catalysts are effective for deoxygenation reactions in supercritical water, but the high cost of platinum may make such processing not economically feasible. Therefore, we studied the deoxygenation of o-cresol in supercritical water over a variety of nickel catalysts. In particular, we examined the hydrothermal stability and activity maintenance of these catalysts. We also examined the effects of catalyst synthesis procedures, residence time, and hydrogen concentration of the reaction products. Preliminary results show that Ni/SiO₂Al₂O₃ and Ni/C are effective catalysts for the deoxygenation of benzofuran and phenols.