Hydrogenation of Succinic Acid to γ-Butyrolactone (GBL) Over Palladium-Alumina Composite Catalyst Prepared by a Single-Step Sol–Gel Method

Abstract

Mesoporous palladium-alumina (Pd-A) composite catalysts prepared by a single-step sol-gel method were calcined at various temperatures to control palladium surface area and acidity. The Pd-A catalysts were characterized by XRD, BET, N 2 adsorption-desorption isotherm, H 2 chemisorption, 27 Al MAS NMR, NH 3 -TPD, and HR-TEM analyses. Liquid-phase hydrogenation of succinic acid to c-butyrolactone (GBL) was carried out over Pd-A catalyst in a batch reactor. The effect of calcination temperature of Pd-A catalyst on the palladium surface area and catalytic performance was investigated. In the hydrogenation of succinic acid, conversion of succinic acid increased with increasing palladium surface area of Pd-A catalyst. Selectivity for GBL depended on the formation of succinic anhydride (an intermediate product formed by acid catalysis) and by-products (formed by hydrogenolysis). Nevertheless, yield for GBL also increased with increasing palladium surface area of Pd-A catalyst. Thus, palladium surface area played an important role in enhancing the catalytic performance of Pd-A catalyst in the hydrogenation of succinic acid to GBL.

Insights into the Oxidation State and Location of Rhenium in Re‐Pd/TiO2 Catalysts for Aqueous‐Phase Selective Hydrogenation of Succinic Acid to 1,4‐Butanediol as a Function of Palladium and Rhenium Deposition Methods

“…[3,4] SUC has aw ider ange of industrial applications. [8][9][10][11][12][13] Bi-metallicR e ÀRu catalysts showed selectivityt oB DO at 200 8C under 80 bar in dioxane. In particular, BDO, which was until recently manufactured entirely from petroleumbased feedstocks, is an important commodity chemical that is used to manufacture large amounts of plastics and important polymers such as polyesters,p olyurethanes,a nd spandex elastic fibers.Avariety of catalysts have been described extensively in patents for the catalytic hydrogenation reaction of maleic acid, maleic anhydride, and SUC to BDO.…”

Hydrogenation of succinic acid to 1,4-butanediol over Re–Ru bimetallic catalysts supported on mesoporous carbon

“…Succinic acid is first transformed into ␥-butyrolactone (GBL) by hydrogenation, and then BDO or tetrahydrofuran (THF) is formed through consecutive hydrogenation of GBL [4]. For the catalytic conversion of succinic acid, various noble metal catalysts such as Pd [7][8][9], Pt [10], Rh [10], Ru [11,12], and Re [13] have been investigated. Among these catalysts, rhenium has been considered as the most efficient monometallic catalyst for the selective formation of BDO.…”

Regenerable Subnanometer Pd Clusters on Zirconia for Highly Selective Hydrogenation of Biomass-Derived Succinic Acid in Water

“…The heterogeneous Pd-based catalysts are efficient in the hydrogenation of SUC to GBL using organic solvents, e.g., 1,4-dioxane and ethanol [39][40][41]. As the fermentation process for SUC generation is performed in water [15], it would be more economical to perform the SUC hydrogenation reaction directly in aqueous media with a heterogeneous catalyst.…”

“…Accordingly, the selectivity is extremely sensitive to the metal nanoparticle size [43]. Further, the formation of PA or BA does not originate from the C-C bond breaking of BDO and it occurs via the C-C cracking of succinic acid due to the catalytic activity of hydrogenolysis for the Pd-base catalysts [40,41]. Therefore, the main (formation of GBL) and side reactions (formation of PA and BA) occur independently.…”