Abstract:The Ni 2 P/SiO 2 catalyst, which was prepared by in situ temperature-programmed reduction and in the mixture with the inert (SiC, SiO 2 ) or acidic (γ-Al 2 O 3 ) material was studied in methyl palmitate hydrodeoxygenation (HDO). Methyl palmitate HDO was carried out at temperatures of 270-330 • C, H 2 /feed volume ratio of 600 Nm 3 /m 3 , and H 2 pressure of 3.0 MPa. Ni 2 P/SiO 2 catalyst, diluted with γ-Al 2 O 3 showed a higher activity than Ni 2 P/SiO 2 catalyst diluted with SiC or SiO 2 . The conversion of methyl palmitate increased significantly in the presence of γ-Al 2 O 3 most probably due to the acceleration of the acid-catalyzed reaction of ester hydrolysis. The synergism of Ni 2 P/SiO 2 and γ-Al 2 O 3 in methyl palmitate HDO can be explained by the cooperation of the metal sites of Ni 2 P/SiO 2 and the acid sites of γ-Al 2 O 3 in consecutive metal-catalyzed and acid-catalyzed reactions of HDO. The obtained results let us conclude that the balancing of metal and acid sites plays an important role in the development of the efficient catalyst for the HDO of fatty acid esters over supported phosphide catalysts.