Sugarcane straw is an important agricultural residue in the ethanol industry. In this work, an activated carbon with high surface area was prepared by activating this straw with H 3 PO 4 (CP) and used as support for Ru catalysts. A commercial activated carbon (CA) was used for comparison. Ru/activated carbons were prepared using RuCl 3 (RuCAC) and Ru(NO)(NO 3) 3 (RuCAN, RuCPN) and characterized by textural analysis, XRF, Boehm titration, pyridine FTIR, TPDÀ He, TPR, H 2-chemisorption, SEM and TEM. The catalysts were tested in the glycerol hydrogenolysis under different conditions of T, P and glycerol concentration. In the standard condition, 200°C, 50 bar and 10 vol % glycerol (GLY), the activity was strongly influenced by the availability of Ru sites on the catalysts surface and acidity following the order RuCPN > RuCAC > RuCAN. Ethylene glycol (EG) formation in RuCAC and RuCPN catalysts was related to metallic sites instead of acidic sites. The formation of 1,2propanediol (1,2PD) instead of 1,3-propanediol was ascribed to predominance of Lewis sites. Reactions with GLY, 1,2PD and EG allowed to propose a reaction scheme comprising the formation of intermediates.

RESUMO -Diferentes biomassas têm sido usadas para preparo de carvão ativado na adsorção de metais pesados. Neste trabalho, três carvões ativados, sendo dois sintetizados em laboratório a base de palha da cana-de-açúcar e do coco e um comercial, proveniente de madeira, foram caracterizados por análise textural, titulação de Boehm, PZC e MEV-EDS e comparados na adsorção de Cr 6+ . Observou-se que características texturais e carga superficial influenciam seu desempenho na adsorção. A cinética de adsorção foi representada pelo Modelo de Lagergren de pseudo-segunda ordem.