In-situ hydrogenation of furfural conversion to furfuryl alcohol via aqueous-phase reforming of methanol

Abstract

It is a promising pathway to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels and obtain the bio-fuels or chemicals production from biomass derivatives. The conversion from furfural (FFR) to furfuryl alcohol (FFA) is an important industrial technology using the liquid-phase hydrogenation method with external hydrogen gas. However, the natural environment is threatened by the security of external hydrogen gas, toxicant catalyst, and the high energy consumption. Recently, in-situ hydrogenation is a novel method to converse FFR to FFA at mild reaction conditions to replace the dangerous external hydrogen gas. In this paper, we reported an efficient in-situ hydrogenation method via aqueous-phase reforming of methanol using Pt loading MgTiO3 (perovskite-type material) at mild conditions. Pt nanoparticles were high dispersion on the nano-MgTiO3-450 surface, and CH3OH and H2O were reformed to produce hydrogen gas on the catalyst surface through the action of Pt nanoparticles. A part of active hydrogen could be involved in the reduction of Pt2+ to Pt0, resulting in the perfect recyclability of the Pt@MT-450 catalyst. The other part of active hydrogen were participated in the hydrogenation of FFR conversion to FFA under the interaction of Pt and Mg elements. The in-situ hydrogenation of FFR to FFA using Pt@MT-450 is an effectively pathway to reduce the reaction conditions than that with external hydrogen gas.