Deep hydroconversion of ethanol-soluble portion from the ethanolysis of Dahuangshan lignite to clean liquid fuel over a mordenite supported nickel catalyst

Abstract

A highly active mordenite (M)-supported nickel catalyst Ni/M was prepared via a modified deposition-percipitation and used for catalyzing hydroconversion of ethanol-soluble portion (ESP) from the ethanolysis of Dahuangshan lignite. The Ni nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed on the support without apparent agglomeration. Moreover, the number and yields of the species detected in ESP are obviously different from those detected in catalytically hydrogenated ESP (CHESP). The contents of aromatic ring (AR)-containing compounds and/or heteroatom-containing compounds (HACCs, some of which also contain an AR or ARs) in CHESP are significantly lower than those in ESP, while the alkanes (30.4%) and cyclanes (54.7%) contents in CHESP are much higher than those in ESP according to the analysis with a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer. Furthermore, according to the analysis with a quadrupole exactive orbitrap mass spectrometer using atmospheric-pressure chemical ionization in positive-ion mode, the number and yields of HACCs in CHESP are significantly lower than those in ESP. The catalytic hydroconversion of lignite-related model compounds further confirms that the synergy between Ni nanoparticles and the M skeleton plays a crucial role in activating H2 to H···H and further activating H···H to H· and H+, which is the key to achieving the AR hydrogenation and the heteroatom removal at 160 °C.