Synthesis of Ni Catalyst Supported on SiO₂-ZrO₂ Binary Oxide for Hydrodeoxygenation of Phenol

Abstract

Hydrodeoxygenation is a one-step reaction that involve the hydrogenation of unsaturated carbon followed with the deoxygenation of the carbon-oxygen bond. This reaction is effective for converting biomass-derived chemicals from bio-oils, fats, woods, and lignocellulosic materials into biofuels using metal-based oxide catalysts. A Ni based-metal oxide catalyst is reported for hydrodeoxygenation reaction of phenol. The catalyst was prepared by a wet-impregnation method using Ni(NO3)2.6H2O dissolved in deionized water and mixed with the previously prepared SiO2-ZrO2 binary oxide as support. After calcination and reduction at 500 °C, Ni/SiO2-ZrO2 catalyst was obtained. The XRD results showed 2θ peaks for metallic Ni at 30°, 44° and 76°. Additional peaks were detected at 2θ = 35°, 50°, 51°, and 60° for ZrO2 tetragonal phase. However, peaks were not detected for SiO2 suggesting amorphous SiO2-ZrO2 composite formation. The XRF analysis of Ni loading was detected at 16.45%. The catalyst activity test for hydrodeoxygenation of phenol was performed using a batch reactor at 200 °C for 2 h and 8 h. The GC-MS analysis gave product conversion for 2 h at 16.84% with the selectivity formation of cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone at 48.10% and 45.78% yield, respectively. After a prolonged reaction time of 8 h, 100% selectivity for cyclohexanol was achieved. Product distribution showed that the catalyst is active for hydrogenation of benzene better than -OH or C=O deoxygenation. The results suggest Ni/SiO2-ZrO2 could be a potential catalyst for biofuel production via hydrogenation reaction.

The Production of Green Diesel Rich Pentadecane (C15) from Catalytic Hydrodeoxygenation of Waste Cooking Oil using Ni/Al2O3-ZrO2 and Ni/SiO2-ZrO2

“…The binary oxide Al2O3-ZrO2 and SiO2-ZrO2 was previously prepared in a 1:1 (wt/wt) ratio according to the reported methods [19,20]. 10 g of Al2O3-ZrO2 was prepared by dissolving 13 g of ZrOCl2.8H2O in deionized water (DI) with the dropwise addition of NH4OH until pH 8 was identified by the formation of Zr(OH)4 as a white precipitate.…”

“…A reverse-phase formation from amorphous to crystalline SiO2 was detected after Ni impregnation. To understand the effect of binary support on Ni catalyst, we tested Ni/SiO2-ZrO2 for phenol hydrodeoxygenation in a stainless autoclave batch reactor [20]. The catalyst showed remarkable activity for ring hydrogenation with the selective formation of cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone.…”

Impurity Defect Induced Ferromagnetism Investigation of SiO2-Supported NiO Particles

“…On the other hand, because of the high optical transparency, superhydrophobic and cytotoxic properties of SiO2 (silica), they have been used in different application fields such as optoelectronic devices, self-cleaning materials and drug delivery systems [7]. Although SiO2 used as a support material in the catalysis studies, there is no work has been observed in SiO2 supported NiO in the magnetization studies according to our knowledge until now in the literatüre [8]. However, Husain and co-workers explained that SiO2 coated Fe3O4 exhibited enhancing magnetism due to non-toxic properties of SiO2 [9].…”