Preparation and hydrodeoxygenation properties of Co–Mo–O–B amorphous catalyst

Abstract

Co–Mo–O–B amorphous catalysts were prepared by the chemical reduction method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), inductively coupled plasma (ICP) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) properties of these catalysts were tested using phenol as the model compound. The catalyst preparation time had no influence on their amorphous structure but a great effect on the catalyst surface composition and the HDO activity. With the prolongation of preparation time, the catalyst particle size and the relative content of Co on the catalyst surface were increased gradually. The conversion of phenol could be as high as 100% with a selectivity of 99.6% for deoxygenation. The aromatics content in the products could be decreased to below 2% and the total H/C atomic ratio could be improved to 1.98. The pseudo first-order reaction rate constant of the phenol transformation on Co–Mo–O–B amorphous catalyst was high to 0.67 mL/(g catalyst s). The main reaction route in the HDO of phenol on Co–Mo–O–B amorphous catalyst proceeded with hydrogenation–dehydration rather than direct hydrogenolysis.