The
hydrodeoxygenation and transmethylation of guaiacol was performed
over each individual Fe/Ni/HBeta, Fe/Ni/ZSM-5, Fe/Ni/HY, Fe/Ni/MCM-41,
Fe/Ni/SiO2, and Fe/Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalyst in a fixed bed reactor under atmospheric pressure and low
temperature. The effects of support and reaction time on the products
distribution, the rate of transmethylation, and X
HDO were studied. Among the different catalysts, Fe/Ni/HY
zeolite demonstrated very good activity in both deoxygenation and
transmethylation, giving 14% BTX (bezene, toluene, xylene) selectivity,
100% guaiacol conversion, and 26% tansalkylation ratio, thereby minimizing
carbon loss and hydrogen consumption during the hydrodeoxygenation
of guaiacol. Key upgrading reactions for the model chemical compound
guaiacol, including aldol condensation, alkylation, hydrogenolysis,
aromatization, and deoxygenation, were discussed. The fresh and spent
catalysts were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM),
X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2-physisorption, Fourier transform
infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM),
and pyridine infrared spectroscopy (Py-IR) methods. The carbon deposition
was also investigated.