Abstract
The selective conversion of phenolic materials is a well-adopted solution to upgrade lignin-based bioresources into high-value bio-oil in biomass refinery industries. This study focused on four main aspects: characterization, selection of catalysts, reaction dynamics behaviors, and mathematical modelling. A model lignin, that is, phenol, was selectively transformed into cyclohexanol by using the prepared Ni–xCo/γ-Al2O3 catalysts in a subcritical water medium. The hydrogenation results showed that when using 15 wt% of Ni–3Co/γ-Al2O3 particles, both total mole yield and selectivity of cyclohexanol could reach approximately 80%, which further indicated that the particles are suitable for catalytic hydrogenation of phenol in subcritical water. Moreover, a reaction kinetics model was developed by chemical reaction kinetics and least squares regression analysis, the robustness and predictability of which were also verified.
Highlights
At present, the traditional fossil energy crisis and corresponding environmental pollution issues have driven many researchers to develop alternative cleaner energy, such as wind energy, solar energy, hydro energy, biomass energy, etc. [1,2]
The main purpose of this study was to clarifycan theprovide valuable information for the conversion and utilization of bio-oil to high-grade chemicals
The structures of the prepared Ni–Co/γ-Al2O3 catalysts were examined by XRD in order to Theunderstand structures their of thecrystal prepared
Summary
The traditional fossil energy crisis and corresponding environmental pollution issues have driven many researchers to develop alternative cleaner energy, such as wind energy, solar energy, hydro energy, biomass energy, etc. [1,2]. The traditional fossil energy crisis and corresponding environmental pollution issues have driven many researchers to develop alternative cleaner energy, such as wind energy, solar energy, hydro energy, biomass energy, etc. [1,2] Among these sustainable energies, biomass energy (i.e., bioenergy) has already become the fourth-largest global energy source, only to coal, oil, and natural gas [3]. It is known that bioenergy can be directly generated from biomass by hydrothermal liquefaction, pyrolysis gasification, etc. Owing to the lower oxygen content and higher calorific value of the produced energy, hydrothermal liquefaction under different conditions (e.g., conventional hydrothermal, supercritical and subcritical fluid, etc.) exhibits incredible potential for direct treatment of wet biomass in its natural state, which can avoid extra energy consumption for drying biomass before pyrolysis processes [5,6].
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