Hydrogenolysis of biomass‐derived levulinic acid to produce 1,4‐pentanediol over Co/ZrO2 catalyst

Abstract

AbstractBACKGROUNDLevulinic acid is an important platform chemical derivable from lignocellulosic biomass. In this work, the hydrogenolysis of levulinic acid to produce 1,4‐pentanediol was performed over some Co‐based non‐noble catalysts. The relationship between the catalyst properties and the catalytic activity was investigated, and the effects of the reaction conditions on the catalytic activity were studied.RESULTSThe Co/ZrO2 catalyst prepared by a coprecipitation method showed a high catalytic performance in the hydrogenolysis of levulinic acid to form 1,4‐pentanediol. The calcination of Co/ZrO2 significantly affected the catalytic activity, and a high calcination temperature of 750 °C could promote the formation of 1,4‐pentanediol. Meanwhile, the reduction of Co/ZrO2 at 400 °C in an H2 flow was beneficial for producing 1,4‐pentanediol, and the Co species after the reduction existed as the forms of Co2+ and Co0. A high H2 pressure and a moderate reaction temperature of 200 °C were beneficial for producing 1,4‐pentanediol, and a high 1,4‐pentanediol selectivity of 85.6% with a complete conversion of levulinic acid was obtained over the Co/ZrO2 catalyst at 200 °C under an H2 pressure of 7 MPa.CONCLUSIONThe Co species in the 400 °C‐reduced Co/ZrO2 catalyst existed as the forms of Co2+ and Co0. It was proposed that the synergistic effect of Co2+ and Co0 contributed to the effective formation of 1,4‐pentanediol from levulinic acid. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).