Activated Carbon from Renewable Sugarcane Straw: Support for Ru catalyst in glycerol hydrogenolysis to 1,2 Propanodiol, Ethyleneglycol and Propanols

Abstract

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.

An Active K‐OMS‐2 Supported Catalyst for Hydrogenolysis of Glycerol

“…In fact, the TOF (turn over frequency) value of the catalyst is higher than previous literature reports. [44][45][46] This catalytic result explicitly established the superior catalytic performance of Ru loaded KOMS-2 catalyst in the hydrogenolysis of glycerol to 1,2-PDO.…”

“…; which suggeststhe prevalence of catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) in presence of 2-propanol. [46] When similar experiments were carried out with the other two solvents, hardly any CTH was observed. These catalytic results clearly demonstrate that 2-propanol is the most effective solvent for the enhancement of hydrogenolysis and 1,2-PDO formation.…”