Abstract
Direct production of BuOH from EtOH is compared over four Cu catalysts, supported on different solid acids. The activity of these catalysts to perform the Guerbet reaction was assessed using a continuous flow reactor and the effect of using scCO2 was also monitored. Cu on high surface area CeO2 showed the best activity for BuOH formation, with yields above 30%.
Highlights
Interest in bio-fuels has increased considerably over recent years, in view of concerns over climate change[1] and energy security.[2]
EtOH has a number of problems as a fuel, including its miscibility with water, corrosion, and low energy content per unit volume compared to gasoline
Scheme 1 The Guerbet reaction: dehydrogenation of EtOH to acetaldehyde, followed by aldol condensation of acetaldehyde to form crotonaldehyde; BuOH is formed via hydrogenation of crotonaldehyde
Summary
Interest in bio-fuels has increased considerably over recent years, in view of concerns over climate change[1] and energy security.[2]. BuOH can be produced from EtOH via a sequence of steps collectively known as the Guerbet reaction This one-pot process involves conversion of a primary aliphatic alcohol into its β-alkylated dimeric alcohol with the loss of one equivalent of water via the aldol condensation and hydrogenation steps shown in Scheme 1. Scheme 1 The Guerbet reaction: dehydrogenation of EtOH to acetaldehyde, followed by aldol condensation of acetaldehyde to form crotonaldehyde; BuOH is formed via hydrogenation of crotonaldehyde. In an attempt to synthesise BuOH, we have prepared catalysts by depositing Cu onto a range of supports capable of catalysing the aldol step These include four acidic metal oxides (Al2O3, TiO2, silica/alumina SIRAL-40 from Sasol (Si/Al) and ZSM-5 zeolite) one high surface area (HSACeO2) and one regular surface area CeO2. Yields conversions and selectivities were calculated as carbon yields, using the same method used by Ogo et al.[15] via the equation below where C wt is the% weight of carbon in the molecule
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