WOx/TiO2-Al2O3 catalyst design via W-O-Ti bond modulation for enhanced lignin valorization

Chenyang Wang, Zhihao Wang, Jionghua Ou, Shengpeng Xia, Yi Yang, Haitao Hu, Kun Zhao, Zengli Zhao and Anqing Zheng

Energy, 2025, vol. 330, issue C

Abstract: The deliberate engineering of a highly active and robust deoxygenation catalyst is a crucial step in achieving efficient catalytic pyrolysis of lignin for aromatic production. Herein, we have developed a novel mixed oxophilic metal oxides (WOx/TiO2-Al2O3, WTA), tailored specifically for catalytic pyrolysis of lignin, which exhibits competitive performance against the commercial HZSM-5 catalyst. By systematically varying WOx concentration, we explore the relationship between WTA's microstructure and its catalytic performance. As WOx loading increases, the catalyst's coordination structure transitions from (Ti-O)n-W to (Ti-O)2-W(=O)2, significantly enhancing its deoxygenation potential through dehydration reactions with phenolic hydroxyl groups. When the WOx content is optimized to 24 %, the BTX (benzene, toluene, and xylenes) yield reaches 2.10 wt%, representing a 9 % increase compared to the HZSM-5 catalyst under identical reaction conditions, while simultaneously achieving a yield that is 15 times greater than that of direct pyrolysis of lignin. However, further increases in WOx loading shift the coordination structure of WTA to Ti-O-W(=O)2, leading to a subsequent reduction in deoxygenation ability. A positive correlation is observed between the total acid concentration of WTA and its W-O-Ti bond content, while the BTX yield correlates positively with the O-W(=O)2 bond content and weak acid concentration of WTA. Cycling experiments demonstrate that the metamorphosis of the Ti-W bonds in WTA from (Ti-O)2-W(=O)2 to Ti-O-W(=O)2 is responsible for the catalyst deactivation. These pivotal findings provide valuable insights into the rational design of improved catalysts for lignin pyrolysis applications.

Keywords: Lignin; Catalytic pyrolysis; Solid acid catalyst; Aromatic; Oxophilic metal oxides (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544225025083
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:330:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225025083

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.136866

Access Statistics for this article

Energy is currently edited by Henrik Lund and Mark J. Kaiser

More articles in Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().