Issue 12, 2021

Metal and solvent-dependent activity of spinel-based catalysts for the selective hydrogenation and rearrangement of furfural

Abstract

The development of cost-effective heterogeneous catalysts for the selective conversion of biomass-derived platform chemicals into value-added chemicals and liquid fuels will pave the way towards the development of sustainable biorefineries. Herein, we perform in-depth optimization of the catalyst composition and experimental conditions to selectively produce three important value-added chemicals from furfural, including cyclopentanone, furfuryl alcohol, and tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol. Results show that the Ni(10%)/CuFe2O4 catalyst affords cyclopentanone as a major product with >90% selectivity in water at 423 K and 1 MPa H2. Meanwhile, switching to non-aqueous solvents, including hexane, isopropanol, toluene, and ethanol, selectively produces tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol as a major product under identical reaction conditions. Over the Cu(10%)/CuFe2O4 catalyst, furfuryl alcohol is produced as a major product in water at 393 K and 1 MPa H2. Control experiments over M/CuO, M/Fe3O4, and M/SBA-15 catalysts are also performed; however. these catalysts afford much lower conversion compared to the M/CuFe2O4 catalysts due to the higher Lewis acidity of the CuFe2O4 support. The physicochemical properties of these catalysts are characterized using powder XRD, HR-TEM, XPS, and pyridine FT-IR. Finally, based on the existing literature, plausible reaction mechanisms for the production of cyclopentanone, tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol, and furfural alcohol on M/CuFe2O4 catalysts are proposed. The present work provides insight into the development of cost-effective and efficient catalysts for the valorization of furfural under mild conditions.

Graphical abstract: Metal and solvent-dependent activity of spinel-based catalysts for the selective hydrogenation and rearrangement of furfural

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
24 Mar 2021
Accepted
05 May 2021
First published
05 May 2021

Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2021,5, 3191-3204

Metal and solvent-dependent activity of spinel-based catalysts for the selective hydrogenation and rearrangement of furfural

A. Kumar, A. Shivhare, R. Bal and R. Srivastava, Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2021, 5, 3191 DOI: 10.1039/D1SE00439E

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