Nanosized TiO2—A promising catalyst for the aldol condensation of furfural with acetone in biomass upgrading

Abstract

a b s t r a c t Nanosized TiO 2 catalyst was successfully prepared by a simple green procedure and used in liquid phase aldol condensation of furfural with acetone, a key step in bio-fuel processing. In order to determine the effect of calcination temperature on catalytic properties of TiO 2 , the as-prepared TiO 2 and calcined TiO 2 (150-900• C) were studied by XRD, BET, TPD-CO 2 /NH 3 , TGA/DTG and FTIR evaluation. The catalytic performance of TiO 2 samples in aldol condensation of furfural with acetone was evaluated and compared with that of Mg-Al hydrotalcites and a BEA zeolite. These experiments showed that uncalcined TiO 2 possessed reasonable activity in aldol condensation of furfural to acetone and resulted in commonly produced condensation products. The observed catalytic behavior of TiO 2 could be competitive with that reported for other inorganic solids. The calcination of TiO 2 resulted, however, in a decrease in its catalytic activity due to extensive dehydration and surface dehydroxylation as well as due to changes of textural properties resulting in a decrease in the amount of accessible active sites. Thanks to its advanced properties, nanosized TiO 2 is a promising catalyst for aldol condensation of furfural with acetone and could broaden possibilities for optimizing conditions for bio-fuel production.

Highly selective hydrodeoxygenation of anisole, phenol and guaiacol to benzene over nickel phosphide

“…However, crude bio-oil from biomass [1][2][3] has some signicant disadvantages as vehicle fuel, such as high acid content, viscosity and corrosion, chemical instability and low caloric value. In order to solve these problems, catalytic cracking, 4,5 aldol condensation 6,7 and catalytic hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) have been adopted.…”

Upgrading of Biomass-Derived Feedstocks to Liquid Transportation Fuel Precursors by Aldol Condensation

“…The best results were achieved with calcined catalyst sample having Mg/Al molar ratio equal to 3 at 100˚C (>95% furfural conversion and > 90% selectivity to the 4-(2-furyl)-3-buten-2-one and 1,5-di-2-furyl-2,4-pentadien-1-one). The catalytic performance of the prepared TiO 2 sample in aldol condensation of furfural with acetone was evaluated and compared with those for Mg-Al hydrotalcites [41] and BEA zeolite [42] (Scheme 6). It showed that uncalcined TiO 2 possesses good activity which could be competitive with that reported for other inorganic solids.…”

Enhancement of furfural–cyclopentanone aldol condensation using binary water–ethanol mixtures as solvent

“…These condensation adducts are precursors for a large variety of renewable chemicals and, upon total hydrogenation, drop‐in diesel fuels. Aldol condensation involves the interaction between two molecules with carbonyl groups (aldehydes – furfural FFL or 5 – hydroximethylfurfural 5 – HMF – or ketones), acetone being the most studied linking molecule …”

“…Aldol condensation involves the interaction between two molecules with carbonyl groups (aldehydes -furfural FFL or 5 -hydroximethylfurfural 5 -HMF -or ketones), acetone being the most studied linking molecule. [5][6][7][8] There are several studies of the aldol condensation of acetone and furfural or 5-HMF using different homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts, highlighting different hydroxides (NaOH and Ca(OH) 2 ) 9,10 and mixed oxides such as Mg-Zr or Mg-Al. 5,8 However, there are other bio-derived molecules with two -hydrogen positions that can alternatively be used for this purpose.…”