Production of renewable alcohols from maple wood using supercritical methanol hydrodeoxygenation in a semi-continuous flowthrough reactor

Abstract

Biomass conversion to alcohols using supercritical methanol depolymerization and hydrodeoxygenation (SCM-DHO) with CuMgAl mixed metal oxide is a promising process for biofuel production.

Controlling Transformation of Sorbitol into 1-Hexanol over Ru-MoOx/Mo2C Catalyst via Aqueous-Phase Hydrodeoxygenation

“…As the only renewable organic carbon source, abundant biomass has long been established and developed to partially substitute conventional fossil resources in the production of value-added biochemicals and biomaterials. − Many new efforts have focused on producing higher alcohols from hemicellulose, cellulose, and sugar polyols using catalytic technologies. − Biomass was directly depolymerized and transformed into C2-C10 linear and cyclic alcohols through retro-aldol condensation and subsequent carbon–carbon coupling under harsh supercritical methanol and CuMgAlO x catalyst. , With the assistance of H 2 SO 4 , the cellulose and hemicellulose were slowly converted into alcohol mixtures of isomeric hexanols and pentanols in the water–solvent biphasic system, respectively, via the selective cleavage of C–O bonds rather than breaking C–C bonds over the Ir-ReO x /SiO 2 catalyst. , However, the main technological obstacles involved the low selectivity of target 1-hexanol and the complicated product distribution, leading to these synthesis strategies being still far from industrial application.…”

“…18−20 Biomass was directly depolymerized and transformed into C2-C10 linear and cyclic alcohols through retro-aldol condensation and subsequent carbon−carbon coupling under harsh supercritical methanol and CuMgAlO x catalyst. 21,22 With the assistance of H 2 SO 4 , the cellulose and hemicellulose were slowly converted into alcohol mixtures of isomeric hexanols and pentanols in the water−solvent biphasic system, respectively, via the selective cleavage of C−O bonds rather than breaking C−C bonds over the Ir-ReO x /SiO 2 catalyst. 23,24 However, the main technological obstacles involved the low selectivity of target 1-hexanol and the complicated product distribution, leading to these synthesis strategies being still far from industrial application.…”

Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers (LOHCs) as H‐Source for Bio‐Derived Fuels and Additives Production

“…[274] To maximize the exploitation of MeOH in lignin depolymerization to high-quality bio-oil production with a low oxygen content, the use of appropriate catalysts for hydrogenation step is crucial. Ni- [275][276][277] and Cu- [138,[278][279][280][281][282][283][284][285][286] based catalysts are undoubtedly the most employed materials when MeOH is used as both solvent and hydrogen donor. Rare examples exist with the employment of catalysts featuring acidic sites [287,288] or with noble metal such as Pt.…”

Supercritical Methanol Solvolysis and Catalysis for the Conversion of Delignified Woody Biomass into Light Alcohol Gasoline Bioblendstock

“…A semicontinuous dual-packed bed reactor setup has recently been employed for SCM-DHDO, where methanol solvent continuously flows through a biomass and CuMgAlO x catalyst bed in series to first perform biomass solvolysis, followed by catalytic upgrading of the solvolyzed sugar oligomers to aliphatic alcohols. [3,14] This setup allows for uninterrupted production when multiple biomass beds are employed. However, lower oxygenate and alcohol yields were reported in continuous flow processing, relative to batch studies at comparable biomass/catalyst loading, even when external H 2 was employed.…”

“…Recent studies with CuMgAlO x showed that while the catalyst remained stable for up to 100 h of time on stream with glycerol as the reactant, [ 3 ] ≈25% reduction in reactivity was observed in the semicontinuous reactor after 5 h of operation with maple wood as the reactant. [ 14 ] Detailed catalyst characterization can shed light on the deactivation mode and potential mitigation strategies, which are dependent on the feedstock, catalyst material, and process conditions.…”