Direct hydrodeoxygenation of raw woody biomass into liquid alkanes

Qineng Xia, Zongjia Chen, Yi Shao, Xueqing Gong, Haifeng Wang (), Xiaohui Liu, Stewart F. Parker, Xue Han, Sihai Yang () and Yanqin Wang ()
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Qineng Xia: Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Research Institute of Industrial Catalysis, East China University of Science and Technology
Zongjia Chen: Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Research Institute of Industrial Catalysis, East China University of Science and Technology
Yi Shao: Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Research Institute of Industrial Catalysis, East China University of Science and Technology
Xueqing Gong: Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Research Institute of Industrial Catalysis, East China University of Science and Technology
Haifeng Wang: Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Research Institute of Industrial Catalysis, East China University of Science and Technology
Xiaohui Liu: Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Research Institute of Industrial Catalysis, East China University of Science and Technology
Stewart F. Parker: ISIS Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
Xue Han: School of Chemistry, University of Nottingham
Sihai Yang: School of Chemistry, University of Manchester
Yanqin Wang: Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Research Institute of Industrial Catalysis, East China University of Science and Technology

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Being the only sustainable source of organic carbon, biomass is playing an ever-increasingly important role in our energy landscape. The conversion of renewable lignocellulosic biomass into liquid fuels is particularly attractive but extremely challenging due to the inertness and complexity of lignocellulose. Here we describe the direct hydrodeoxygenation of raw woods into liquid alkanes with mass yields up to 28.1 wt% over a multifunctional Pt/NbOPO4 catalyst in cyclohexane. The superior performance of this catalyst allows simultaneous conversion of cellulose, hemicellulose and, more significantly, lignin fractions in the wood sawdust into hexane, pentane and alkylcyclohexanes, respectively. Investigation on the molecular mechanism reveals that a synergistic effect between Pt, NbOx species and acidic sites promotes this highly efficient hydrodeoxygenation of bulk lignocellulose. No chemical pretreatment of the raw woody biomass or separation is required for this one-pot process, which opens a general and energy-efficient route for converting raw lignocellulose into valuable alkanes.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11162

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