Hydrogenation of γ-valerolactone to 1,4-pentanediol in a continuous flow reactor

Abstract

Hydrogenation of γ-valerolactone to 1,4-pentanediol was performed over both precious and base metal catalysts in a continuous flow reactor under H2 pressure. Cu/ZnO catalyst showed the highest catalytic performance for the formation of 1,4-pentanediol from γ-valerolactone. Low reaction temperatures such as 140°C were preferable for achieving 1,4-pentanediol, and high temperatures led to the further conversion of 1,4-pentanediol to 2-methyltetrahydrofuran and 1-pentanol. High H2 pressures and moderate H2 flow rates such as 90cm3min−1 were effective for the formation of 1,4-pentanediol. Calcination temperature of Cu/ZnO significantly affected its catalytic activity. A Cu/ZnO catalyst with a Cu metal loading of 40wt.% gave the γ-valerolactone conversion of 82.3% with the 1,4-pentanediol selectivity of 99.2% at 140°C under 1.5MPa of H2 pressure, while no decrease in the catalytic activity was observed for 10h.