Abstract
Catalytic behaviors of copper phosphide supported on various oxides (SiO2, γ-Al2O3, and USY zeolite) have been evaluated for deoxygenation of oleic acid and compared with nickel and cobalt phosphides. All catalysts were prepared by the hydrogen reduction of metal phosphate precursors. CoP and Ni2P were obtained on USY zeolite, while Cu3P was formed on USY and SiO2 supports. On the contrary, the metallic Cu phase was stabilized on γ-Al2O3 support. Metal phosphide particles were highly dispersed on the USY support. Cu3P/USY exhibited much larger surface area and higher acidity compared to Cu3P/SiO2, owing to the textural and acidic properties of the USY zeolite support. All supported catalysts gave an oleic acid conversion close to 100% at 340 °C. Ni2P/USY, CoP/USY, and Cu/γ-Al2O3 favored the deoxygenation of oleic acid to alkane products such as heptadecane and octadecane. Highly selective production of octadecane (98%) through hydrodeoxygenation pathway occurred on Cu/γ-Al2O3. In contrast, the supported Cu3P catalysts favored cyclization and aromatization to form cyclic and aromatic compounds such as dodecylcyclohexane, heptylcyclopentane, and dodecylbenzene. Cu3P/SiO2 provided dodecylbenzene in higher yield (46%) than Cu3P/USY (33%).
Highlights
As oil reserves have become exhausted and the rate of fossil fuel consumption for energy continues to increase, a renewable biofuel such as the biodiesel, aliphatic ester, vegetable oil, and biomass-derived fatty acid has been receiving considerable attention due to economic, environmental, and social benefits [1,2,3]
Various metal phosphides on silica such as Ni2 P/SiO2, Fe2 P/SiO2, MoP/SiO2, Co2 P/SiO2, and WP/SiO2 have been tested for HDO of guaiacol in gas phase [19,24]; benzene and phenol were obtained as main products
Nickel, and cobalt phosphide catalysts were evaluated for deoxygenation of oleic acid
Summary
As oil reserves have become exhausted and the rate of fossil fuel consumption for energy continues to increase, a renewable biofuel such as the biodiesel, aliphatic ester, vegetable oil, and biomass-derived fatty acid has been receiving considerable attention due to economic, environmental, and social benefits [1,2,3]. Cecilia and coworkers [23] have investigated the catalytic performance of Ni2 P catalysts for HDO at moderate temperature (300 ◦ C) by using dibenzofuran as a model compound and found that phosphides could prevent deactivation of a catalyst from water and coke formation on the catalyst. These catalysts exhibited high selectivity for the hydrogenation pathway. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no studies on the catalytic performance of copper phosphide for deoxygenation of renewable biofuel
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