Abstract
Ru supported on activated carbon, Al2O3, and MgO was assessed for the hydrogenation of levulinic acid (LA) to γ-valerolactone (GVL). Role of H2O on the hydrogenation activity of Ru was studied by probe-adsorbed diffuse-reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) spectroscopy. Ru supported on activated carbon showed a maximum productivity of 1.18 kgGVL kgcatalyst–1 h–1 with an insignificant loss in the activity after 72 h of continuous operation in the presence of H2O. Using pure LA, GVL rate was decreased by an order of magnitude (0.12 kgGVL kgcatalyst–1 h–1) within 6 h of reaction time. The physicochemical characteristics of the catalysts were examined by temperature-programmed desorption of NH3, CO pulse chemisorption, H2-temperature-programmed reduction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques. H2O-adsorbed DRIFT spectroscopic data revealed the reversible generation of surface −OH groups when aqueous LA was used as the substrate; consequently, Ru/C catalyst stability was also improved. Final...
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