Aqueous Phase Glycerol Reforming with Pt and PtMo Bimetallic Nanoparticle Catalysts: The Role of the Mo Promoter

Coupling Hydrogenation of Guaiacol with In Situ Hydrogen Production by Glycerol Aqueous Reforming over Ni/Al2O3 and Ni-X/Al2O3 (X = Cu, Mo, P) Catalysts

Biomass-derived liquids, such as bio-oil obtained by fast pyrolysis, can be a valuable source of fuels and chemicals. However, these liquids have high oxygen and water content, needing further upgrading typically involving hydrotreating using H₂ at high pressure and temperature. The harsh reaction conditions and use of expensive H₂ have hindered the progress of this technology and led to the search for alternative processes. In this work, hydrogenation in aqueous phase is investigated using in-situ produced hydrogen from reforming of glycerol, a low-value by-product from biodiesel production, over Ni-based catalysts. Guaiacol was selected as a bio-oil model compound and high conversion (95%) to phenol and aromatic ring hydrogenation products was obtained over Ni/γ-Al₂O₃ at 250 °C and 2-h reaction time. Seventy percent selectivity to cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone was achieved at this condition. Hydrogenation capacity of P and Mo modified Ni/γ-Al₂O₃ was inhibited because more hydrogen undergoes methanation, while Cu showed a good performance in suppressing methane formation. These results demonstrate the feasibility of coupling aqueous phase reforming of glycerol with bio-oil hydrogenation, enabling the reaction to be carried out at lower temperatures and pressures and without the need for molecular H₂.

Hydrogen from Renewables: A Case Study of Glycerol Reforming

Biomass is an interesting candidate raw material for the production of renewable hydrogen. The conversion of biomass into hydrogen can be achieved by several processes. In particular, this short review focuses on the recent advances in glycerol reforming to hydrogen, highlighting the development of new and active catalysts, the optimization of reaction conditions, and the use of non-innocent supports as advanced materials for supported catalysts. Different processes for hydrogen production from glycerol, especially aqueous phase reforming (APR) and steam reforming (SR), are described in brief. Thermodynamic analyses, which enable comparison with experimental studies, are also considered. In addition, research advances in terms of life cycle perspective applied to support R&D activities in the synthesis of renewable H2 from biomass are presented. Lastly, also featured is an evaluation of the studies published, as evidence of the increased interest of both academic research and the industrial community in biomass conversion to energy sources.

Elucidating Molecular Interactions in Glycerol Adsorption at the Metal-Water Interface with Density Functional Theory

Glycerol is an extremely versatile platform molecule for chemical and fuel production, as evidenced by successful demonstrations in electrochemical and thermochemical processes, where key catalytic chemistries occur at the solid-liquid interface. Despite the remarkable progress made in enriching the first-principles-based computational tool set to reveal and characterize solvent structures in the past decade, techniques for realistic and efficient molecular-level modeling to study aqueous-phase glycerol chemistry are still far from mature. Many aqueous-phase catalytic systems are deemed too complex for routine modeling because of their highly correlated structures at the heterogeneous solid-liquid interface. This invited feature article merges recent developments in quantum mechanical solvation models and oxygenated hydrocarbon conversion chemistry by revisiting the molecular interactions of adsorbed glycerol and its dehydrogenation intermediates at the water-metal interface. Explicit participation of water through the establishment of water-adsorbate, water-water, and water-metal interactions on Pt(111) was investigated using density functional theory. In periodic models, the adsorption favors networklike structures with adsorbates as nodal points linked by coadsorbed water molecules. We also showed that these adsorption patterns actually preserve the original bond-order-based scaling relationship framework established without the consideration of solvent. This behavior can be exploited to improve computational efficiency for future analysis of catalytic polyol conversions in the aqueous-phase environment.

Catalytic Transfer Hydrogenation of Biomass-Derived Substrates to Value-Added Chemicals on Dual-Function Catalysts: Opportunities and Challenges

Aqueous-phase hydrodeoxygenation (APH) of bioderived feedstocks into useful chemical building blocks is one the most important processes for biomass conversion. However, several technological challenges, such as elevated reaction temperature (220-280 °C), high H₂ pressure (4-10 MPa), uncontrollable side reactions, and intensive capital investment, have resulted in a bottleneck for the further development of existing APH processes. Catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) under much milder conditions with non-fossil-based H₂ has attracted extensive interest as a result of several advantageous features, including high atom efficiency (≈100 %), low energy intensity, and green H₂ obtained from renewable sources. Typically, CTH can be categorized as internal H₂ transfer (sacrificing small amounts of feedstocks for H₂ generation) and external H₂ transfer from H₂ donors (e.g., alcohols, formic acid). Although the last decade has witnessed a few successful applications of conventional APH technologies, CTH is still relatively new for biomass conversion. Very limited attempts have been made in both academia and industry. Understanding the fundamentals for precise control of catalyst structures is key for tunable dual functionality to combine simultaneous H₂ generation and hydrogenation. Therefore, this Review focuses on the rational design of dual-functionalized catalysts for synchronous H₂ generation and hydrogenation of bio-feedstocks into value-added chemicals through CTH technologies. Most recent studies, published from 2015 to 2018, on the transformation of selected model compounds, including glycerol, xylitol, sorbitol, levulinic acid, hydroxymethylfurfural, furfural, cresol, phenol, and guaiacol, are critically reviewed herein. The relationship between the nanostructures of heterogeneous catalysts and the catalytic activity and selectivity for C-O, C-H, C-C, and O-H bond cleavage are discussed to provide insights into future designs for the atom-economical conversion of biomass into fuels and chemicals.

Catalytic Reforming of Oxygenates: State of the Art and Future Prospects

This Review describes recent advances in the design, synthesis, reactivity, selectivity, structural, and electronic properties of the catalysts for reforming of a variety of oxygenates (e.g., from simple monoalcohols to higher polyols, then to sugars, phenols, and finally complicated mixtures like bio-oil). A comprehensive exploration of the structure-activity relationship in catalytic reforming of oxygenates is carried out, assisted by state-of-the-art characterization techniques and computational tools. Critical emphasis has been given on the mechanisms of these heterogeneous-catalyzed reactions and especially on the nature of the active catalytic sites and reaction pathways. Similarities and differences (reaction mechanisms, design and synthesis of catalysts, as well as catalytic systems) in the reforming process of these oxygenates will also be discussed. A critical overview is then provided regarding the challenges and opportunities for research in this area with a focus on the roles that systems of heterogeneous catalysis, reaction engineering, and materials science can play in the near future. This Review aims to present insights into the intrinsic mechanism involved in catalytic reforming and provides guidance to the development of novel catalysts and processes for the efficient utilization of oxygenates for energy and environmental purposes.

Chemical imaging of single catalyst particles with scanning μ-XANES-CT and μ-XRF-CT

The physicochemical state of a catalyst is a key factor in determining both activity and selectivity; however these materials are often not structurally or compositionally homogeneous. Here we report on the 3-dimensional imaging of an industrial catalyst, Mo-promoted colloidal Pt supported on carbon. The distribution of both the active Pt species and Mo promoter have been mapped over a single particle of catalyst using microfocus X-ray fluorescence computed tomography. X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure revealed a mixed local coordination environment, including the presence of both metallic Pt clusters and Pt chloride species, but also no direct interaction between the catalyst and Mo promoter. We also report on the benefits of scanning μ-XANES computed tomography for chemical imaging, allowing for 2- and 3-dimensional mapping of the local electronic and geometric environment, in this instance for both the Pt catalyst and Mo promoter throughout the catalyst particle.

Selective oxidation of glycerol to formic acid in highly concentrated aqueous solutions with molecular oxygen using V-substituted phosphomolybdic acids

We report here that glycerol can be selectively oxidized to FA in highly concentrated aqueous solutions with molecular oxygen by using vanadium-substituted phosphomolybdic acids as catalysts, which also offers an alternative route to the direct extraction of H₂ from glycerol.